Something New
by Via Call
Summary: Savannah Simmons is 23, and has just graduated college. She moves to Forks for a job at the middle school and her life changes when she meets Park Ranger and werewolf Seth, who turns her world upside down. Life is good for Savannah, until the day a ghost from the past makes an unwanted return and she's tossed back into the life she ran away from.
1. Portland

Hi guys! This is the first chapter of a fic I've had circling my brain for a while now, and finally sat down to write. I'm currently on chapter 10, so you can expect pretty frequent updates from me. Please review! I'm looking for all the feedback I can get, good or bad, so feel free to give me constructive criticisms or comments. R&amp;R!

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"Are you sure about this, Savannah? Forks? It's legitimately in the middle of Nowhere, Washington. I thought you loved Portland -" a woman in her early fifties said, exasperation and concern coating her voice. "I do, I do." Savannah shook her head, her hair blowing in the wind on the pier. "It's just impossible to find a teaching job for a girl fresh out of college, and this was the only one open that I'm qualified for." Her mother, Diane, pursed her lips and uttered a resigned sigh. "Well, if that's what you want, I'll support you."

Savannah smiled and hugged her, whispering a quiet "thank you" before draining the last few drops of her coffee and motioning for them to continue their walk through the fair. She loved Portland, she really did. With it's quaint coffee shops and vibrant music scene, but she needed a break from school. The irony did not go past her and she rolled her eyes at her chosen profession as a teacher. She also felt like she needed some experience before she went to graduate school, and the offer of a job as a teacher's assistant for middle schoolers in English literature and History at Forks Middle School had not come a day too soon.

Diane looked at her daughter with a tender gaze. She was happy to see her daughter look so carefree, with her green eyes twinkling and fair hair flowing lazily in the wind from across the river. Diane sighed. Her daughter hadn't looked this relaxed in a long, long time, no longer feeling the need to look over her shoulder every other minute, although the habit was still present whenever she was in smaller crowds.

It was an unusually hot day in June, and the Portland fair in the park by the river was filled with people enjoying the food stands and children laughing on the rides. "You're not leaving because of Ryan, are you?" Diane asked quietly, grabbing Savannah's hand to stop her from bolting. Savannah turned around and looked at her mother. She'd aged, the last year, ever since the tiresome court case had finally gone through and Savannah had been granted her restraining order from her ex, Ryan. They'd dated the first two years of college, and when Savannah had declined his proposal, he'd gone mental, threatening to ruin her life and any career prospects unless she agreed to marry him. Not wanting to go back down that dark path in her mind, Savannah sighed and met her mother's gaze. "He can't come within 200 feet of me mom, I don't think I would need to go all the way to Forks to get away."

June and July had passed like the wind through the leaves in Mill Ends Park, and the day of departure had arrived. It was a chilly August morning, and she was grateful for the fuzzy socks she was wearing in her boots.

After packing her car up to the brim with all her books and belongings, Savannah kissed her parents goodbye and put the key in the ignition. She'd spent the last week strolling through the streets of Portland, committing her favorite spots to memory, as a final tour of her home town before beginning on the next stretch of her life.

The car, a rather run down Volvo station wagon, roared to life and she hit the interstate with her stereo blasting her favorite radio station. The afternoon sun beating down on her through the windshield filled her with heat and lifted her spirits. Despite growing up on the rainy west coast, she loved the feeling of the sun on her skin. It was energizing, and in combination with the wind from the open window and her large Americano she was enjoying the freedom of the open road and sped towards her new home.

As she left the city and it's suburbs and crossed the state line, the weather changed as thick clouds covered up her beloved sun. She cranked the window up and turned on the heater. She was grateful her mother had insisted on her bringing every single sweater she owned, and in retrospect she did not regret her splurge on the cream cashmere sweater she was currently wearing, despite the dent it had made in her bank account. It had a snug fit and she appreciated the feeling of the soft fabric against her skin. As a naturally cold blooded person, Savannah had always loved thick and woollen fabrics that kept her warm in the cold Portland winters. It's going to be colder in Forks, she reminded herself as she got closer, and when she saw the city line she released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

It was around 6pm when she parked in front of the small apartment complex she would be living in for the next year. The grey building looked just like it had in the ad online, and she followed the instructions to go to the first apartment on the left to meet her landlord and pick up her key.

Savannah braced herself as she unlocked the door to her small one-bedroom unit on the first floor and stepped in. She flipped the light switch on and saw white walls, surprisingly nice wooden floors, a good kitchen with large countertops and new appliances, and a sparsely decorated living room. She dropped her purse on the table in the hallway and began to unload her car.

After unpacking the essentials and placing them in the bathroom, she went to her new bedroom and to her dismay discovered that the lightbulb in the ceiling was out. Deeming it a problem for tomorrow, she kicked off her shoes and passed out on the bed, exhausted from the five hour drive and unpacking. She slept fitfully that night, an image of a man haunting her in her dreams.


	2. Date

"Do you sell light bulbs?" Savannah asked the elderly woman in the grocery store the next day. The woman shook her head, but directed her to the hardware store next door. Savannah thanked her, put her groceries in the trunk of her car, and continued on her hunt for a simple light bulb.

The hardware store seemed empty, and so Savannah was left to peruse the aisles free from interruption. That is, until a large, burly man tapped her on the shoulder and asked if she needed assistance. 'Brady', she read on his nametag, and he introduced himself as the manager of the store. She introduced herself and they exchanged pleasantries as he directed her to their rather extensive light bulb section. "You're new around here, aren't you? Passing through?" he asked grinning, and Savannah shook her head. "No, I just moved here actually. Got a job at the middle school here," she replied. He was very attractive, there was no denying that, with a height that could rival a basketball player and muscles that in no way could come from just carrying boxes around in a hardware store, all wrapped up in tan skin and dimples. She was intrigued.

He'd lived here all his life, he explained, as she was paying for her purchases. He lived down at the reservation half an hour away, and invited her to come around and check it out.

"Actually, we're having a bonfire on Thursday, if you'd like to come." Savannah considered his offer, and argued that her training at the school didn't begin for another week and accepted. They arranged for him to come pick her up around 6 at her place, and she thanked him as she left.

With her favorite playlist on repeat, a jazzy Ella Fitzgerald/ Frank Sinatra compilation, blasting from her speakers, Savannah finished unpacking everything in record time. She'd put all her her clothes in the wardrobe, and realized she'd need a bookshelf for all of her books, and was now perusing the kitchen while mentally listing every utensil, pot and pan she could find, and decided to make dinner.

The next few days passed quickly as she continued to make herself acquainted with the town, and after another quick trip by the stores her cupboards were now sufficiently stocked with food and tools, and her small apartment was slowly beginning to feel like home.

After spending Thursday on her laptop emailing the teachers she would be working with at the school and preparing lesson sheets, she went to her closet to peruse her options for the night.

Brady had said it was just a bonfire, a very casual affair, and that the winds from the sea could easily make it feel very cold, and insinuating he could help keep her warm if need be, after which she had blushed profusely. Savannah settled on a pair of simple black jeans, her favorite fuzzy sock-boots combination, and her cream cashmere sweater. She decided against doing anything special with her hair, and let her honey colored locks fall in their natural soft waves down past her shoulder blades. After checking on her makeup and grabbing her khaki jacket she deemed herself ready to go, and waited for Brady on the step outside her door.

He picked her up a few minutes later, and they drove down the winding roads to the reservation. He would point out small landmarks and interesting facts as they drove, but Savannah was mesmerized by the colorful sky as the sun set in the horizon, and only nodded politely and responded when need be as Brady drawled on about everything that came to mind.

When Brady eventually pulled over next to a few other cars in a clearing, Savannah was grateful for the break in his monologue and jumped out of the car. Having never been of the particularly shy kind, she was looking forward to meeting new people and making friends in her new town.

She felt like she had left part of herself when she left her best friend Cynthia in Portland. Having been friends since first day of primary school way through college, they'd been like two peas in a pod. When Cynthia left for her year abroad in Argentina, they'd Skyped at every opportunity, and when Savannah had told her about Ryan she almost drove to his mansion and beat him up. Cynthia had always been the impulsive fire to Savannah's cool collected demeanor, and despite their differences and spats they'd always worked it out with a bad chick flick and a bucket of Ben &amp; Jerrys. After Savannah's run in with Brady at the hardware store she'd called Cynthia immediately, needing to process this new event with someone who understood her. They'd gossiped for hours, and Cynthia had told her excitedly about her new biker boyfriend and her audition for a tv-show.

She missed her friend, and was determined to fill the gap with some new ones.

Brady rounded the car and put his hand on her back as he guided her down the gravelly path. The sun had all but set, but the light from the huge bonfire greeted her as they passed a line of trees and ended up on the beach. The loud sounds of laughter and conversation made Savannah giddy, and she beamed at Brady. He led her over to a small group of people and introduced her as new to town, and they smiled at her kindly as they shook hands. Collin, Leah, Quil, and a girl who looked about 13 called Claire. "You're gonna work at the middle school?" Claire asked and giggled. "You're gonna be my teacher! Aren't you too young to do that?" the young girl asked inquisitorially and Savannah laughed. "I'll be helping your real teachers, I'm the assistant." Claire nodded and redirected her attention to Quil as she whispered something inaudible in his ear and continued with their conversation. Their relationship puzzled me. He looked like he was around my age, 23, or maybe a bit older. They must be siblings, she mused, and made small talk with Leah.

She was 28, worked in a car shop on the reservation, and was a genuine and nice person. She pointed out people in the crowd and gossiped until a man crept up on her from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling her neck. She giggled, and introduced him as her husband of four years, Jason. He was obviously not from the reservation, with blonde hair and blue eyes, but he was almost as tall as Brady, raging over Leah by almost a foot. That on its own was impressive, as Leah herself dwarfed Savannah with her 5"4 in flat shoes.

Savannah suddenly became very aware of the fact that there were couples everywhere, with few exceptions. Brady's possessive hand at her back made it obvious that this was something he was aware of as well, and it made her feel slightly uncomfortable. She didn't think this was an actual date, but she begin to wonder if that was what Brady thought it was. She excused herself to take a walk to look around, and Brady let her go with a frown on his forehead. It didn't last long though, when Colin made a snarky comment and they ended up wrestling in the sand.

Savannah sat down on a rock by the edge of the water and pulled her jacket close to her body. Brady wasn't kidding when he said it got cold here, she thought as she watched a seagull land gracefully in the water and drift on the waves.


	3. La Push

Here's chapter 3. I'm currently looking for a beta, so if anyone would like to volunteer their time and effort please shoot me a PM! This story is written in a third-person omniscient narrative, so here you'll get to see some of Seth's inner workings as he finally meets Savannah.

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After finishing his patrol, Seth arrived at the bonfire to see Brady and Colin engaged in a friendly wrestling match in the sand. He rolled his eyes and went over to Quil. "Colin made a not-so-gentlemanly comment about Brady's new squeeze of the week," Quil explained and nodded towards a girl sitting on a rock by the shore. Even at a distance he could see what would inspire saucy comments. With her jacket pulled that close to her body, he could see some significant curvy features he really liked, and he nodded appreciatively. As her face turned to look at something in the distance, Seth frowned and felt the air shift slightly around him. There was something about this girl. He was intrigued, and patted Quil on the back and jogged down to her. "Hey, how are you? I'm-" He froze mid-sentence as she turned around to face him. Dazed, he blinked five times in rapid succession and felt the pieces of his otherwise muddled mind readjust and set, and everything focused around her. Everything was suddenly very quiet, and the only thing he could hear was her heartbeat, and the sound of her breathing, and the smell of her hair in the wind overpowered his senses. He'd imprinted.

Savannah was enjoying the quiet rustle of the waves hitting the sand and played with the idea of sticking her feet in, just to feel the cool, crisp ocean tickle her toes. That idea was long gone as she gazed into the eyes of this stranger. Seth, he'd said his name was. She shook the hair out of her face and stood up, reaching her hand out. "I'm Savannah." He took a ragged breath and grasped her hand, and she knew he'd felt the electric current that shook her to the core when she saw his eyes widen. "Uhm.." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and reluctantly retracted her hand. He dragged his hand through his hair and laughed breathily. "Hi," he repeated, and looked down at her with a dazzling smile. She giggled and returned his look, "Hi."

Their introductions were cut short when an elderly man in a wheelchair declared it was time. Time for what, Savannah wasn't sure, but when Seth took her hand and led her back up to the bonfire she followed gladly. There was something about this man that was very different than any of the other guys she'd met, or dated, in the past. He was taller than Brady, unbelievable as that seemed, and his dark chocolate eyes twinkled in the light from the fire. There was a dimple on his right cheek that would appear whenever he smiled, which seemed to be continuous at the moment. She followed as he moved to sit them down on a log, and it was at that moment Brady made his return. Brady. She'd completely forgotten about him. "What's up Brady?" she asked him. Brady looked down at where Seth and Savannah's hands were joined and groaned in frustration. "For real, Seth? Really?" Brady uttered sourly. Savannah frowned and extricated her small hand from Seth's large, strong ones and looked between them in confusion. Seth shrugged and grinned at Brady in response, "sorry dude, not my decision." Savannah's forehead creased further as Brady's shoulders sagged and he sighed in defeat. "Fucking A, man. I can't catch a fucking break," Brady was upset, Savannah could tell. Confusion continued to cloud her face, and she crossed her arms. "Guys, what the hell is going on?" The boys exchanged glances, and as the elderly man cleared his throat in impatience, they said "later" in unison. Brady moved to the other side of the circle, and Seth motioned for Savannah to sit down. He joined her on the log and gazed happily at her. Her annoyance dissipated and she smiled back as the man in the wheelchair began telling the stories of the Quileute nation. "He's our Chief, Billy Black," Seth whispered in her ear and she nodded gratefully.

It wasn't until Savannah shivered that she even noticed she was cold, and as Seth cursed under his breath he placed his arm around her shoulders. "This okay?" he whispered, and she nodded, revelling in the heat exuding from his tan skin and through her clothes. She listened intently as stories of Cold Ones and wolves were told in a powerful yet soft voice, but Seth's arm around her shoulders and his fingers stroking her arm proved very distracting.

As Billy's stories came to a close, the congregation came alive again with animated talk and the circle was filled with laughter. Savannah yawned despite herself, and rested her head on Seth's shoulder.

Seth released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and tightened his hold on her, relaxing. He couldn't believe it, if he was honest with himself. Who would've thought Brady would be the one to introduce him to Her. The big Her. His imprint. Of course, he doubted it would've been anyone else, Brady was the womanizer of the pack, and the one with a new lady on his arm with a rather high frequency.

Savannah yawned again, and decided it'd be better to go home before she passed out on a perfect stranger. "I think it's time for me to go," she declared and stood up. Gathering his wits, Seth followed. "Don't you want something to eat?" he asked desperately, trying to keep her with him for a little while longer. Savannah's stomach growled, and she admitted defeat. "I guess I do," she laughed. Seth smiled excitedly and guided her towards a table stacked with immeasurable amounts of food.

She filled her plate with a hot dog and potato salad, while Seth filled three to the brim with everything he could get his hands on. "Have you ever seen food before?," she said sarcastically and he smirked. "High metabolism. I need a lot of fuel to keep this thing going," he stated and motioned to his body. And what a magnificent body it was, Savannah thought. In the light from the fire, she could see his muscles flex under his thin shirt 'how come he's not freezing'- the thought flitted through her mind as she kept admiring him. "See something you like?" he flirted with her, and he was delighted to see a hint of a blush fill her cheeks. "Well, the view isn't that bad from down here, to be perfectly honest" she flirted back and bumped him with her hips. He full on laughed at that and they walked back to their log. They ate in a companionable silence, and he struggled to keep his eyes off of her. Had he not been eating, he doubt he'd have looked away from her at all. She was a sight, he told himself. Luscious hair he wanted to drag his hands through, hips he'd love to hold and caress all night, deep green eyes he felt penetrate his soul, and lips - damn those lips, pink and full. How he wanted to kiss her, he felt as if he could spend the rest of his life kissing those lips.

"So what are you doing here, Savannah?" He savoured how her name rolled off his tongue. "Well, I just finished my BA in Education at Lewis &amp; Clarke in Portland, and I'm here to work at Forks Middle School as a Teacher's Assistant," she replied. "What about you?" He told her about his life as a Ranger in the Olympic National park, and she was intrigued. "So, have you ever brawled a bear? When I was doing research I read about these huge bears, or were they wolves?, that attacked hikers a bunch of years ago. One of the very few articles of interest about this place, to be perfectly honest," she laughed softly and touched his arm.

The heat radiating from his skin further powered the electric surge she felt when she touched him and filled her minds eye with dirty thoughts of what these powerful arms could do. She shook her head as if to empty her brain of the images of him in her bed. He grinned at her and laughed, "Well as a Park Ranger I've come across many a mighty beast in my path, but none who've bested me yet," he winked at her and she giggled mid-yawn. "I would love to continue this conversation, but I'm scared I'll fall asleep on you," she said jokingly and stood up. He followed her, thinking that that wouldn't have been such a bad thing, and they discarded their plates in giant trash bags before Savannah began scanning the crowds. Seth looked at her curiously, and she caught his expression of confusion. "I'm looking for Brady, he drove me here and I need a ride home," she explained. Seth felt the jealous rage rise in his body at the thought of Brady in a closed space with what was his, but it quickly passed as he saw her frown at him. "I'll drive you, Savannah. Just let me get some keys," his hand brushed her elbow and he jogged over to Brady who rather reluctantly handed his car keys over to Seth. Grinning, Seth returned and they walked to where Brady had parked and got in.

Seth revelled in how her scent filled the small enclosed space, and started the car. "So how was it?" he asked as he looked over at her. She had pulled her knees up to her chest, and told him earnestly how she'd really enjoyed herself. She talked about Leah, and they both laughed at the Claire Inquisition. "I love how close she is with Quil. Makes me wish I had siblings when I grew up," she said wistfully. Seth's brow furrowed in confusion as he switched gears and drove slowly through the reservation, not wanting the night to end. "Claire and Quil? They're not siblings," he answered. "I'm confused. Are they close cousins or something?"

"Or something, I would say," Seth replied and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He was not ready to explain to her the intricacies of imprinting, or the pack for that matter.

They fell into a comfortable silence, and Savannah drifted off to the quiet rumble of the car. 20 minutes later she was awoken by a large, warm hand on her knee, gently rousing her from sleep. "We're here," Seth whispered in a soft caramel voice, and Savannah stretched and looked around in confusion. "How did you know where I live?" she asked, "Brady told me your address when he gave me the keys," Seth explained and got out of the car. He opened her door and offered his hand to help her out, a sentiment she appreciated greatly as she groggily got out and walked to her door.

"I had a really good time, Seth. I bet Brady's upset though, with you monopolising his date," Savannah joked and looked up at him. He was probably two feet taller than her, and his shoulders looked as if they were twice as wide. He was an impressive sight, with those beautiful dark eyes and that charming mop of dark hair on his head. But those lips, and the dimples, they almost turned her knees to jelly as she gazed up at him. "He'll get over it," Seth murmured with a smile and brushed a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. "When can I see you?" Seth asked quietly as he twirled a silky strand of her hair around his finger. "How about I just give you my number and we can talk about it in the morning?" Savannah murmured tiredly.


	4. Village Boy Assumptions

Finally they met. I think I'm going to continue to update pretty frequently, as I've written up to chapter 12 now. R&amp;R!

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After a kissing her cheek in a wish for a goodnight, Seth got back in the car and drove to the rez. He pressed play on the radio and an upbeat rock song filled the car. He sang along and beat the drums on the steering wheel as he raced back to First Beach. He hadn't felt this happy in a long time; maybe ever. But he was painfully aware of how for every mile he drove, he felt his heart stretch further apart, leaving a part of itself in a small condo in Forks.

As soon as he walked into the circle around the bonfire he was surrounded with hoots and wolf whistling. He received pats on the back from Quil, who welcomed him to the club, and a hug from Leah who said he'd earned it. His eyes met Brady's across the fire, and he walked over to greet him. "Thank you, Brady. And I'm really sorry," he laughed as they fistbumped. "I'm jealous dude, you're lucky. She's a hot piece of -ow! Was that fucking necessary?" Brady rubbed his bicep and glared at Seth. "Don't talk about her like that man, she's my goddamn imprint." The members of the pack chuckled and continued with their congratulations. "You're a man now," Billy said and they shook hands. Brady grunted and asked with dismay, "What? I'm not a man just because I haven't imprinted yet?" The imprinted wolves shook their heads in mirth and Brady continued muttering disgruntled comments about the ridiculousness of imprinting as he got his keys back from Seth.

Savannah awoke feeling refreshed for the first time in a long time, and she stretched languidly in her bed. She realized she'd had no strange dreams or nightmares, and thanked her lucky stars for the restful sleep.

She showered and dressed, and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. Yoghurt and granola in hand, she settled down on her couch to check her emails. After replying to the ones from her co-workers to-be she checked her phone, surprised to find a text from Seth.

"Hey Savannah, what are your plans for the day?"

She grinned, looking down at the small screen and typed her reply.

An hour later she heard a knock on her door and shouted a request for whoever it was to enter. Seth walked in and found her staring at her wall in the living room with her hands on her hips and her hair in a bun. "Hey you," she turned and smiled at him. He moved closer and stood next to her, admiring the empty wall. "Hey Tiny," he grinned down at her as she huffed, stating that she wasn't that short compared to the national average. He chuckled and asked "What are we looking at, Ms. Simmons?", as he continued to study the empty living space, only occupied by a small and rather torn apart couch. "Well, I need to do something about this," she motioned to the whole room. "First of all, I need to get some furniture and a TV, and this-" she pointed at the couch "-needs to be replaced. Will you help me out?" she looked up at him, begging for assistance with this seemingly huge task. He laughed and and sobered up before replying "I would love nothing more than to help a fair maiden in distress."

They made a list of all the things she needed; a book shelf, a few lamps, and general furniture, and set off to Port Angeles in her Volvo. They passed time cracking bad jokes and talking about their lives. She told her a bit about herself, "I'm 23, an only child, lived in Portland all my life," and Seth reciprocated "I'm 28, and as you know, I'm a Park Ranger. Honestly, it gets kind of boring. Just walking rounds and scout for lost tourists," he joked. What he didn't tell her was that his job as a Park Ranger was perfect as it allowed him to complete his pack duties while getting paid by the state to do pretty much the same thing.

After browsing a few shops, she'd picked out what she needed and thanks to Seth's helpful assistance they'd managed to get it all loaded in the car after putting the back seats down. "Lunch?" she asked, and he nodded his head eagerly. She laughed at him, and pointed to a small fish restaurant. "Is that okay?" "It's perfect," he smiled down at her and placed his hand on her lower back as they walked. Unlike when Brady had done it, Savannah revelled in the heat from his hand, and yet again her mind wandered to places not suited for a walk along the sidewalk in public.

After placing their orders Savannah looked over at Seth, placing her hand on his on the table. "Thank you so much for helping me today, I doubt I'd be able to carry all of that on my own." He chuckled, and flipped his hand to hold hers. "I'm happy to have been of assistance, Ms. Simmons," he squeezed her hand softly and she snorted. "Please don't call me that, I'll be getting enough of that as it is at the school." They both laughed, and neither of them moved their hand.

A waitress, Alison, arrived with their drinks and was a bit too attentive to Seth for Savannah's liking. If that girl flutters her eyelashes one more time, she swore in her head and tightened her grip on Seth's hand. He turned his face from the waitress and cleared his throat, "thank you, I think we're good here" he told her and she left, the bounce in her step reduced. He raised a singular eyebrow at Savannah and she moved to retract her hand. "Hey," he said concerned and grabbed it back. She sighed and placed her arm on the table, resting her chin on her other hand. "I don't know why that girl bothered me so much," she said honestly and rolled her eyes at herself.

"It doesn't matter, she wasn't going to get anywhere anyways. I'm with someone else," he smirked at her and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. She frowned at him and a question she'd forgot to ask rose to mind, "Are you dating someone?" He guffawed and stared at her. "I wasn't before I met you, if that's what you're asking."

She pondered his reply and continued, her voice careful as a slow smile spread across her face. "So you are now?"

He ran his hand through his hair and cleared his voice again, "Savannah, will you date me? I'm personally counting this as a date, but that's just me and my village boy assumptions."


	5. The Bunny Sock Blues

Here is chapter five! Let me know what you think :)

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The corners of her lips turned up and slowly grew into a grin before she let out a small laugh. "Village boy? Really?" He joined her laughter and rested back in his chair. "Compared to you, I am. Portland is a lot bigger than Forks and La Push combined. Not that I've ever been." She continued laughing and pondered his statement. "Well, I do suppose that even by my city girl standards this could qualify as a date. Especially considering all the adorable looks and compliments of how 'cute we are' from every elderly woman in all of Port Angeles." Seth grinned at her, and nodded in response.

After they ate they returned to the car and drove back to Forks in a comfortable silence, only interrupted by a quiz show on the radio. "Argentina!" "Colombia!" They shouted at the same time, only to be let down as the radio host revealed that the country with the largest population in Latin America was in fact Brazil. They both groaned in defeat as the host continued with the questions. "Competitive, aren't you?" he asked her as she continued to answer the questions, getting every other one right. "Why yes, I would say I am. I used to play soccer in High School," she answered and concentrated on the host's voice. "I would say you are as well, Seth" she laughed as he shouted answers at the radio, his neck hung in defeat when he was wrong. "There's not a lot of stuff to do in La Push, us rowdy guys didn't have much to do but compete."

As the quiz finished they tallied up the points and Savannah was crowned victorious.

When they returned to her apartment it was almost 5pm. Seth helped her carry her things inside and began putting her new bookshelf together. "We'll have to go for another run to get a new couch, for now this will have to do," she stated and covered the old one in a new, soft, cream blanket, as Seth continued with reading the directions. After he finished with the bookshelf he placed it along the wall according to Savannah's directions, and as he started putting up her TV-stand and the new TV, she opened her cardboard box of books and began placing them in their new shelf. Seth watched her out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help the twinge of happiness coursing through his heart. She looked so domestic, and he was excited for the day when he'd see her do this all over again, in their home. He knew he was hoping for a lot, but he could also feel how their bond grew even in the short time they'd spent together. Whenever she laughed he'd feel giddy, knowing it was of his doing. He was glad she allowed him to help her put her apartment together, and was more than grateful for the beer she offered him an hour later, when they'd plopped down on the couch after finishing their work. She'd curled up in the corner of the small couch with her knees to her chest as she nursed her glass of wine.

"Let's see if this thing works, huh?" he asked and grabbed the remote to the television. He grinned in victory when the screen lit up and showed an episode of some sitcom he'd seen before. She laughed and thanked him profusely for all his help, "really, I couldn't have done this without you, honestly. Thank you so much for today," she turned to him and grabbed his hand, squeezing it in gratitude. "Don't worry about it, I was happy to help," he told her genuinely and intertwined their hands as they turned their attention to the screen.

"I don't really like this show, do you mind?" she asked and held her hand out for the remote. "Be my guest, it's a bit too laugh-track for me too," he said as he handed it to her. She giggled and took another sip of wine as she clicked through the channels. She eventually settled on some crime show and relaxed back into the couch. Seth was staring, he realized, when she looked at him quizzically. "Is there something on my face?" she asked and started wiping at her chin with the sleeve of her wheat colored cardigan. "No, no you're good," he coughed, embarrassed. There was something about her in her dark jeans and grey t-shirt with her hair in that wretched bun he really liked. He would've liked it more if she'd take her hair down, so he could run his hands through what he'd deemed looked like dark, liquid honey and felt like silk. She stretched her legs and twisted her ankles around, frowning. "You okay?" concern coated his voice as he looked at her. "My feet hurt, I should've worn different shoes. I fractured a tendon in my foot at a concert a few years back and it never really healed," she lied effortlessly. "It hurts when I walk too much in wrong shoes," she explained, when she stretched her feet out, she grimaced. The truth was that it did hurt when she walked, and it had been at a concert, but the fracture had happened after a some random guy had danced a bit too closely for Ryan's liking and he'd shoved her away from him, hard. She'd had to go the hospital after falling on her ankle wrong, and Ryan had blamed it on her clumsiness. At the time, she'd believed him.

"Here, givem' here," Seth said and motioned for her to move her feet into his lap. She turned and did as asked, and Seth laughed when he rubbed her soft bunny socks. "I freeze easily, fuzzy socks help," she flushed and wiggled her toes. He grabbed a pillow from behind his back and placed her feet on it, removing her socks and started rubbing them softly. She groaned in pleasure, and Seth was grateful for the pillow on his lap covering up his rather strong physical reaction to the noises she was making as he continued to rub her soft feet. She admired him over her wine glass as he continued with his ministrations until he touched the painful tendon, and she hissed. Savannah opened her mouth to apologize, a gut reaction Ryan had pushed on her, but she caught herself and covered it with a small cough. Seth didn't notice her slip, and looked at her in curiously. Upon realizing where the painful spot was he leaned down and kissed it softly. His warm lips on her skin soothed the ache and she shot him a grateful smile. He returned it and leaned down to pick up her discarded socks. He kissed each toe before he put the socks back on, and she sighed in contentment. Seth wanted to hear that sound every day of his life, he craved it with his entire being, and he relaxed on the couch.

"Hungry?" she asked him from the kitchen, where she was refilling her second glass of wine.. "Ahh, very, actually," he replied and got up to see if she needed help. "Chicken okay?" "For sure, whatever you have is fine," he said as he sat down on one of the two chairs in the kitchen. She swiveled around and opened the fridge, humming along to some tune he wasn't familiar with. "What is that song?" he asked her, as she put all her ingredients on the table. "Oh, if you could just grab my cell and plug it into the speaker I'll show you," she grinned and continued chopping vegetables. He went out in the hallway and fished her phone from her purse, unintentionally looking at the screen to see a lost call from an unknown caller. "Hey, you have a missed call here," he told her and showed her the screen. She shook her head and waved it away, "it's fine, just plug it in and hit play." He frowned, but decided to let it go, a talk for another day.

A soft jazz song started drifting through the small kitchen, and she sang along as she moved her hips along to the song. 'Dream A Little Dream Of Me,' he noted the song in his head and watched as she prepared their dinner. "Do you need any help?" he asked, and she directed him to turn the stove on and peel potatoes.

She sang along to the song, her voice hitting all the right notes as far as Seth was concerned, and he enjoyed the calm and relaxed vibe in the kitchen. As she finished her part, Seth put the potatoes in the pot, and Savannah placed the chicken and vegetables in a pan and put it in the oven, setting the timer to 30 minutes. After cleaning up the kitchen, Savannah took Seth's hands in hers and guided him through a slow four-step as a Frank Sinatra track played through the kitchen. As the song picked up, she slowly incorporated a few more complicated dance moves and laughed at Seth's obvious lack in dancing skills, to which he admitted openly was not his strong suit. They laughed their way through the next few songs, and before either of them knew it, the buzzer of the alarm rang and the smell of food filled the kitchen.

He grabbed another can of beer from the fridge and her glass of wine, and sat down next to her on the carpeted floor in the living room. They ate and laughed, and it was one of the best nights Savannah had had in a long time. It'd been a while since she felt this relaxed around a man, and despite the missed call, she knew it was from Ryan, she shook the nerves from her shoulders and enjoyed Seth's company. After emptying her fourth glass of wine and finishing dinner, she and Seth did the dishes and found themselves back on the couch, albeit in a different position than earlier. Seth was reclining against the corner of the couch, his legs reaching over the end, and Savannah was resting between his legs, her head nestled in his chest. Seth pulled the hair tie out of her hair, finally rid of the despicable bun and able to run his hands through her hair. She revelled in the feeling of his heat warming her entire body until she was toasty warm, a feeling she only felt when she was covered by three blankets and two layers of socks. She turned her face and looked at him, "thank you for a really, really great day Seth. I had fun." He smiled down at her, "no, Savannah, thank you."

They watched another episode of the crime show, and he was rubbing slow circles on her back when she yawned and stretched her legs. Those lean legs, Seth thought, how he would love to see them wrapped around something other than those jeans. She looked at her watch, "Oh jesus, how is it already 11pm?" she said incredulously and sighed in defeat. "I'm so tired," she groaned and Seth grinned as he picked her up. "What are you doing?" she giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck in reflex. "I'm putting you to bed, sleepy head," he laughed and carried her to her bedroom. He pulled the covers away with one hand, and laid her down. She sighed contently as he kissed her forehead. He moved to turn the lights off and leave when she stretched her arm out to him,

"Hey you, come back here a sec." He crouched down next to her bed, and pushed a strand of hair out of her face. She sat up on her elbow and looked at him. "In the city, this would count as a second date," she stated and looked at him coyly. "And in the city, on the second date, you kiss," she whispered. Seth stroked her cheek with the back of his hand and smiled at her, "Really? That's very interesting, Savannah," he murmured and they closed the distance. It started as a little peck, and slowly grew in intensity as they lost themselves in their kiss. It was fire, and it was pleasure, and it rocked her to the core. She'd never experienced this kind of intensity in a single kiss before, and she was hungry for more. He grinned against her lips, feeling her breath quicken and her hands grasping at the hair at the nape of neck, and before he felt himself lose control in the feeling of her soft, pliant lips, he stopped.

She frowned at him, and he pecked her lips once more before kissing the frown between her eyebrows. "You've been drinking a lot Savannah, I think I'd better leave before this escalates," he whispered with a lazy smile, pride over his own self-control seemingly emanating from his very core. He didn't want their first time to be when she'd been drinking this much. He didn't even consider his own blood alcohol level, as what beer he'd had had burned through his system a long time ago. She pouted and laid back on her pillow, frustration clear on her features. He laughed and brushed her hair once more before he kissed her forehead and left. As soon as Seth left the room, Savannah touched her fingertips to her swollen lips. She probably was a sight, wanton and hungry in her bed, aching for the touch of strong, tan hands on her skin.


	6. Dogs

A short one to tide you over while I go over some other sections of the story. Let me know what you think in reviews!

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He phased the second he hit the woods and ran through the forest in a victory lap as he howled in success. He had spent the whole day with his imprint, they'd cooked together, danced, drank, and most importantly -he'd kissed his imprint, and she'd wanted more. Seth doubted the day could've possibly gotten any better when they'd cuddled on the couch, but his coy Savannah made it better with her flirtatious glances and soft lips. He was in seventh heaven.

That is, until he picked up a scent on his path through the woods. 'I knew I shouldn't have phased; it's not even my fucking shift', he thought as he followed the disgustingly sweet scent of a vampire playing on the outskirts of Forks. 'Of course this had to happen, Jesus Christ,' he continued on his annoyed tirade as he continued. 'Oh, shut up Seth, at least your day was good,' he heard Brady grumble through the pack mind as he joined him on the trail. 'I'm coming guys, wait up!' Seth heard Collin call and soon he was flanked by the sandy wolf as they ran full speed towards the trespasser. 'I hope this isn't one of the Cullens dude, I really need to kill something tonight,' Brady muttered sullenly as images of a failed date crossed the pack mind. Seth snorted and Brady snarked at him, 'Just because you had a great night doesn't mean I had,' Brady continued. Collin, just happy to be running, ran ahead, his tongue lolling out of his mouth and looking every bit the dog he was.

The scent grew stronger, and the wolves spread out in attempt to trap the leech. Much to Brady's glee, it wasn't a Cullen, but a red-eyed stranger. He was holding the corpse of a hiker in his arms, blood still dripping from his fangs as they caught him by surprise. They didn't give the red headed man a chance to explain himself as they attacked and tore him apart. It was quick and easy, and just the release the three boys needed that night. The fear of the straggler belonging to a larger coven was prevalent as the boys split up, and Brady and Collin went to wake up the ones who were currently skipping out on their patrol duties so they could check it out. 'Thanks for helping out, Seth' Collin said before Seth ran home to the small house he shared with Brady and Colln in La Push, and crawled into bed, exhausted and happy.


	7. Wrestler

Here's a longer one to make up for the short last one. R&amp;R!

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Seth had texted her Friday morning to tell her he had to work all weekend. There had apparently been a bear attack near Mount Olympia, and he had to go investigate to see if he could find the bear responsible.

"Don't let the wildebeests of the park hurt my ranger," she'd typed in response, giggling as she pressed 'send'. Savannah spent the weekend doing the finishing touches on her condo, and went to Port Angeles on Sunday to check out the local bookstores and do some shopping. Fixing up her apartment had put a significant dent in her savings and she was looking forward to her first paycheck with glee. After living on a student budget the last four years, she'd spent the summer working at a library in Portland to make some money for her big move, a decision she was grateful for as she perused the shelves of Barnes &amp; Noble and found several intriguing titles. The feeling reappeared when she went on the hunt for a new soft, cardigan and some nicer underwear. She felt herself blush as she picked up a particularly lacy navy blue number in the lingerie section, and Savannah couldn't help but imagine a pair of familiar warm hands peeling it off her skin. She looked around the store, half out of habit, and the other half a fear of someone reading her indecent thoughts, but she seemed to have gone unnoticed by the other patrons of the shop.

Shaking the out the nerves which felt like orbs of cold fear under her skin, she walked to the register, paid, and left. She couldn't help how she looked over her shoulder as she walked along the sidewalk and to the parking lot. She felt on edge despite the idea of safety she'd lulled herself into in Forks. The unknown caller was Ryan, she knew that, and that made her uneasy. Ever since the restraining order took effect she'd receive random and sporadic calls from an unknown number, and whenever she'd felt brave enough to pick up she'd hear a ragged man's breath in the speaker. It unnerved her, but without any proof that it was him she couldn't go to the police.

It was getting dark as she drove back to Forks, her mind drifting between Ryan and Seth, and her brow furrowed as she pushed the thoughts out of her head. She didn't want them to be compared in any way; where Seth was sweet and kind, like how he'd rubbed her feet, Ryan was cold and harsh, and even thinking their names in the same context made her mouth feel sour. No, she thought. 'They have nothing in common, and Seth doesn't deserve for me to sully him with Ryan.'

There was something about Seth that she'd never experienced before. She was drawn to him in a way she didn't quite understand. It didn't feel like a mere crush, or a physical attraction -because damn he was hot. She felt inexplicably safe with him; whenever he was around she could relax completely, without fearing he would lash out for one reason or other. She could be herself. She reflected over how they'd discussed literature when she was placing her books in the shelf he'd put up for her, and how he'd blushed in embarrassment when he admitted he hadn't read nearly as much as she had.

She smiled and shook her head to clear her mind and concentrated on the winding, treelined road back to Forks. She was safe in Forks, the law had made sure of that, she told herself and leaned back against the car seat. She hummed as she parked her car and walked in to her apartment. After putting away her purchases, she checked her phone, and was surprised to see a missed call from Seth.

Seth had just finished searching through the National Park when he called her on Sunday night. He was exhausted from the weekend, but he needed to see her after they found that leech on Friday, and especially after finding traces of a group in the north, just beyond the pack's jurisdiction. They'd been forced to abandon the scent, but had spent the weekend patrolling the perimeter in case the leeches decided to make a reappearance.

"Hello Savannah, Ranger Seth at your service," he grinned into the receiver. "Hey you," she breathed in response, a knot in her back she hadn't noticed slowly uncurling until she felt relaxed again. "How did it go? Did you wrestle a bear?"

"Nah, nothing to report, to be honest. It looks like it was just passing through and attacked the hiker before continuing on it's merry way," he replied, and savoured the sound of her voice despite the bad reception. "I'm at home now actually, can I stop by?" he asked. "Of course, I was just about to make dinner, if you're hungry?" she joked and he laughed. "You know me too well, Savannah."

"How was your weekend?" Seth asked as she let him in. "It was good, I ran some errands and read a bit. It was nice," she smiled and led him through to the kitchen. "I made pasta, I hope that's okay," she said hesitantly, and snorted a laugh when he nodded enthusiastically. They sat down at her small kitchen table and ate the carbonara, and she considered having another few glasses of wine, but decided against it. Alcohol had been a sort of reprieve for her ever since Junior year, whenever she and Ryan had had a fight. After they broke up, her drinking had increased from just a glass or two every now and then -to four or five, every time she'd seen his name flash across her cell, or seen his face. After the hearing she'd had a series of very bad days, and she was now slowly trying to reestablish a healthy relationship with liquor. Wine was fine, but the harder stuff got to her bad, and she tried to stay away from it as much as possible.

Savannah blushed when she looked up and met Seth's tender gaze. "What?" she asked, but received no verbal response; Seth just grabbed her hand and held it on the table, stroking his thumb over her knuckles and grinning at her. She didn't think she could turn any redder but smiled back at him and giggled as they continued to eat.

When they'd finished, Savannah moved to get up, only for Seth to tighten his hold on her hand and pull her down in his lap; nuzzling his face in her soft hair and inhaling her scent. She smelled like woman and lavender shampoo and Seth could spend the rest of his life in the crook of her neck and die a happy man.

Savannah had tensed up when she landed in his lap, but she settled back against his soft embrace and enjoyed the closeness. "What's on your mind?" he whispered quietly and stroked her hair. She sighed in resignation and shuddered, closing her eyes and resting her head on his shoulder, enjoying the feeling of his warm body against hers and his soft caresses on her skin. "It's nothing, I don't want to talk about it right now," she murmured in a quiet response and held the hand he was resting on her knee. He exhaled with a tinge of frustration and nodded slowly. "For another day, then," he settled and squeezed her hand as she moved to get up. She grabbed their plates and washed them in silence. Seth looked at her, his heart twisting. There was something she wasn't willing to share yet, and it worried him. The mood in the room had taken an abrupt turn from cozy to cold, and he hated to waste precious time with her on being upset. He grabbed her phone off the table and connected it to the speaker, playing the same jazzy tunes they'd danced to earlier that week. 'Dancing Cheek to Cheek' resonated through the room, and as he finished drying the plates she'd washed, he took her hands in his and twirled her around on the kitchen floor. Her frown from before was gone from her face, and she giggled as he messed up every other step, but soon they figured out the rhythm and she guided him through the moves again. It didn't take long before Seth's muscle memory had worked through the steps, and they laughed blissfully as they danced.

When the song ended they finished cleaning up and ended up back on the couch, like before. Seth was watching TV, while Savannah was reading one of the novels she'd picked up from the bookstore that day, resting with her back against Seth's side, while his arm was draped comfortably over her shoulders.

The feeling of Seth's heavy arm around her was calming and exhilarating at the same time, and she revelled in the feeling of his fingers stroking her arm as she read. It was distracting her from her new book, but she couldn't care less at that point. He was dozing off in the corner of the couch when a distant howl sounded through the night, and he jumped up, almost throwing Savannah on the floor. Disheveled, she stared at him in confusion. "Seth, what on earth?" He held a finger up to silence her as another howl rang, louder this time. "I gotta go," he said apologetically as he walked briskly to the hallway and put his shoes on. Savannah followed him, wrapping the blanket from the couch around her, and leaned against the doorframe as she watched him grab his jacket off the hook.

Seth turned around and looked at her apologetically. If there was any way he could've stayed he would, but the pack needed help. Looking at her standing in the doorway, wrapped up tight in a blanket and her hair flowing freely down her shoulders, he imagined peeling the fabric off and have his wicked way with her, and he was just about willing to abandon the pack and his duties at that moment. Another howl vibrated through the air, and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he leaned down and kissed her softly. "I'm so sorry, but I have to go. It's an emergency," he explained as he stroked her cheek with his knuckles, her frown of confusion deepening on her face. "Okay," she exhaled the word as if speaking it out loud would be painful, and to Savannah it felt that way. She missed him when he was gone; as if a part of her was left with him when he walked out the door. Savannah stood up on her tip-toes, and he met her halfway, their lips clashing in a soft and desperate kiss, before he whispered another quiet apology and walked out the door with a promise of texting her later.


	8. Real Date

A/N: Hi guys! Sorry for keeping you high and dry for over a week, but I was stuck on an island in Nicaragua and was thus left without internet. I would really appreciate whatever feedback you have, so please R&amp;R and enjoy!

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Savannah was excited as she drove through the rainy morning to the Middle School for her first day. Mrs. Cameron, the English teacher she'd been emailing with, greeted her in the reception when she entered and smiled at her. "I'm Kim, it's nice to finally meet you!" she said excitedly as she walked her down the corridor and to their classroom. Savannah smiled in return and studied Kim. There was something incredibly familiar about her that she couldn't quite place. "I'm sorry, but I feel like I've seen you before," she said as they sat down by the teacher's desk to prepare for the 6th graders they'd be teaching that day. "I don't know if you've been down to the La Push, I live there with my husband?" Kim offered with a dazed smile and continued with stacking the papers for the day. "I was down there on Thursday night actually, at a bonfire."

Kim's mouth opened in an O, and she studied Savannah in detail. "You were there with Seth, weren't you?" she asked. Savannah nodded and felt a hint of a blush creep up her neck, grateful for the marine blue sweater she wore that would cover it up. 'They must've been talking about me,' she thought curiously, as Kim droned on about the bonfire and life on the reservation. "So how are things? With you and Seth, I mean." Savannah nodded and said they were good, and talked about their date on Friday, pausing as she told her about how he'd walked out on her last night. Kim furrowed her brows for a second before shaking it off and smiling at her, "he is a Park Ranger, he probably had to go check something out," Kim responded quickly and cleared her throat.

The door to the classroom opened before Savannah could ask any more questions, and a rowdy group of kids came through the door and found their seats. Claire waved at Savannah as she sat down and Savannah smiled back at her, glad to find a familiar face on her first day.

Kim and Savannah worked as efficiently as a team, and before Savannah could look at the time it was lunch. She walked with Kim to the teacher's lounge, grateful to find a pot of fresh coffee in the kitchen. She checked her phone for messages from Seth and came up naught, and sat down next to Kim to eat the leftovers she'd secretly hid from Seth last night.

The lunch break was spent cracking jokes and laughing over the ridiculous tricks the students had gotten up to that day, and before she knew it she was finished with her first day at her new job. Kim arranged for Savannah to come over to her house for dinner that night, and they hugged as they parted in parking lot.

Savannah was happy about how her day had gone. They'd led a class on the basics of poetry, talked about the battle of the Alamo, and the kids had been surprisingly engaged in both English and History. Grateful for the fact that she and Kim didn't have to teach Math and Natural Sciences, both the 6th and 7th graders they'd taught that day had been pleasant and inquisitive, much to Savannah's surprise.

Blaming it on the first day of school, she went home to clean up and relax before heading over to La Push. Checking her phone for the third time that day, she saw that Seth had not sent her anything yet, and she sighed in frustration.

A few hours later, Savannah was knocking on the door to a house with a large front porch and a lush, big garden in La Push. Kim opened the door and pulled Savannah through the door and gave her a hug. "Mama mama, who is it?" she heard a small boy call out, who came running down the hallway to greet the newcomer. He was about four or five, Savannah mused, and crouched down to say hello. The boy hid behind Kim's legs and she laughed, "Come on Chris," she encouraged him and he stuck his right hand out to Savannah. She laughed with Kim and took his hand with a serious expression on her face, "I'm Savannah." "Hello miss Savannah, I'm Christopher," he replied, imitating her serious expression until he giggled and ran away.

"He's my youngest," Kim explained and told her about her 10 year old daughter, Lucy, who was spending the afternoon at Claire's house. Savannah made small talk and studied the pictures hung sporadically around the living room. There were dozens of pictures of Kim and who she assumed was Jared, her husband, and a bunch of group pictures taken down at the beach starring Brady, Seth, Jared, and a group of guys who looked just like them. Savannah studied a close-up where Seth and Jared were fooling around and wrestling on the beach, and noticed they had matching tattoos on their shoulders. She didn't know Seth had a tattoo, she mused, and followed Kim to the kitchen to help her finish up dinner and set up.

Kim's countertops were covered by massive amounts of food, and Savannah looked at it all in wonder. "How many people are coming?" she asked incredulously. There must've been enough to feed a small army, for sure. Kim's laughter rang through the room like a bell, "You obviously haven't met all of the boys yet, have you?" Savannah shook her head and helped Kim put chicken on a huge serving plate. "I met some of them at the bonfire, but I didn't get a chance to spend much time with them," she admitted. Kim giggled and nodded understandingly, "Seth must be quite distracting."

Savannah blushed and snorted as they completed the finishing touches on the plates. They were discussing the 7th graders and their bad jokes as a rowdy group of tall and tan men entered the living room. "They're here," Kim sang and wiped her hands on her apron as she met her husband half way and kissed him in greeting. Savannah looked away in an attempt to offer some privacy as she heard Seth's laughter bounce off the walls in the hallway. She felt that oh-so familiar pull as he entered the living room, and he grinned as he walked towards her in the kitchen. "Savannah! I didn't know you were going to be here," he exclaimed happily and wrapped his arms around her. She sighed in contentment as the string around her heart loosened at his touch, and she offered him a peck on the lips as they smiled at each other. Whistling and chuckles ruptured their bubble as Seth reluctantly let her go and began introducing her to the guys. There was about ten of them, and they were all around the same height as Seth, and looked just as strong, and she felt intimidated by the brawn surrounding her as she was passed from guy to guy for hugs. She coughed uncomfortably and looked at Seth for help as she was about to burst from the uninvited invasion of personal space, and he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, her back against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her torso.

The guys were all wearing ripped t-shirts and cut-offs and Savannah frowned. It was August, but it was also a chilly rainy day in Forks. She turned around and gazed up at Seth, who was distracted by a crude comment made by one of the guys, but as soon as she started tracing patterns on his shoulder he looked down at her, a lopsided smile taking up half his face. It was infectious, and she smiled back up at him as she asked him about his tattoo. "It's a Quileute thing, a coming-of-age symbol in the tribe," he said quickly and kissed her forehead, effectively silencing any other questions she might have.

Seth wasn't ready to tell her about the pack just yet; the image of her running away in fear was vibrant in his mind and heavy in his heart. He was exhausted from spending the night and the better part of the day hunting down the leeches who'd entered their territory, but having Savannah close filled him with new energy.

They'd caught one of the leeches, but two managed to get away, more pissed off than ever after losing the second member of their clan in as many days. After the Cullens and Jacob left, the tribe expected the number of leeches passing through their reservation to go down, but it hadn't worked out quite as expected. The number of nomads had actually gone up, now that it was common knowledge that the Pacific North-West was up for grabs as the Cullens were off somewhere in Canada. What was less known was the fact that the territory was under the protection of the wolves, as the ones who saw them often did not live long enough to tell the tale.

The guys filled their plates with food as a group of girls around Savannah's age trickled in through the open door, receiving warm greetings and they all split up into couples. Savannah observed them silently from her spot in the kitchen as Seth was discussing something with a guy who introduced himself as Embry.

Savannah was enjoying herself, trying to analyze the relationships in the room. There was Jared and Kim, Leah and Jason, Quil who'd arrived with Claire and Lucy, -who was currently clinging to Collin's hand, and Brady who was listening intently to whatever Seth and Embry were talking about. Savannah was just about to go outside for some air when she was interrupted in her path by a girl with the tell-tale Quileute tan skin and dark hair who thrust her hand out, "I'm Anna, and you must be Savannah." Savannah took her hand and and nodded with a laugh, the alliteration was funny when she said their names that fast in succession. Anna, who looked like she was around Savannah's age, joined her in the kitchen and they quickly fell into conversation. "I'm with Embry," she explained and pointed. "And I've heard you're with Seth," she raised her eyebrows suggestively and bumped Savannah. She laughed, "Well, I don't know if we're at that level quite yet. We've only known each other for a week," Savannah replied with humour in her voice. Anna looked at her with confusion. "But I thought Seth impri-" she was interrupted mid sentence as Embry grabbed her by the shoulders and laughed unnaturally loud. "There you are, sweet girl of mine," he laughed nervously and lead a mortified Anna away. She collected her wits and turned around and shouted "It was nice to meet you! We'll talk soon!" over her shoulder as she let Embry lead her out of the room, leaving a baffled Savannah behind.

Feeling even more confused than before, Savannah shook her head and wiped her hands on her dark jeans. Seth was by her side in half a second and draped his arm over her shoulders. She looked up at him, confusion still apparent on her face. "Anna said something. Well, before Embry almost carried her out of here caveman style, that is. She said you'd imp or inp or something,. What did she mean?" Savannah looked up at Seth with her big, green eyes, and Seth sighed deeply. He knew she was clever and would figure it out on her own if he didn't satisfy her curiosity, and contemplated how he was going to explain everything to her without risking her leaving him.

Seth knew that if she left, it would kill him. He'd seen Quil when Claire's parents had tried to take her away from him, and he never wanted to go through that himself. He'd felt his pain through the pack mind, and it was painful just to think about it.

Before Seth could ponder further, he heard the tell-tale signs of a brawl outside in the yard and he groaned in frustration. Paul was at it again, this time with one of the new pack members, Liam. He'd probably tried to pick a fight with Paul, to prove himself to the pack, and it was not going to end well. He left Savannah in the kitchen and ran out to stop them before they phased, but it was too late. Fur and jaws and sharp teeth were all out, and his shoulder sagged in defeat. 'Shit. Too late to try to explain this away,' Seth thought as he heard Savannah gasp beside him. She grabbed his hand and tried to drag him inside, to safety, and he shook his head. "I know you're a strong and mighty Ranger, but those are wolves, HUGE wolves, and we need to get inside," she whispered desperately as she continued to try to pull on his arm.

He sighed and scratched the back of his head as the boys calmed down. Paul had Liam pinned to the ground, and Liam whimpered in defeat. Paul let Liam up and they shook out their sore muscles before they jogged into the woods to change. Seth cringed as the boys came out of the woods wearing sweatpants, pushing each other around jokingly. He felt Savannah freeze to stone next to him, and he could almost hear her brain trying to piece what she'd just seen together. "There were wolves." she muttered in shock. "And now there's people," she laughed without humour, her brows knitted together on her face. Seth turned to face her, and she gaped up at him. "What the fuck just happened, Seth," she said calmly, her voice barely a whisper.

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A/N: So now she knows! Sorry for the cliffhanger. I'll try to update soon, I promise


	9. Paws

A/N: Hey all. I bet some of you must feel like this story is taking a long time to develop, but whenever I read imprint stories it always feel like it's all very rushed and I don't like that. Who falls in love with someone in a day? So I'm trying to give my story a somewhat more realistic turn of events, but S&amp;S will get there I promise! Please R&amp;R and let me know what you think! Wishes and remarks are incredibly welcome.

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"Did you not see what I just saw?!" she exclaimed, pointing a shaky finger at Paul and Liam who had frozen as if they were human statues in the grass. Seth exhaled through his nose and glared at the boys, mouthing an angry 'thanks a fucking lot' at them as he pulled Savannah's shock-ridden body after him and into the forest. "Look, Savannah, remember the bonfire?" he asked calmly, holding on to both of their hands as they came to a standstill in the woods. She nodded and stared at him. "Remember Billy's talk? How he told the stories of the Chief and tribesmen changing forms?" Savannah stood so still that if Seth hadn't been able to hear her heartbeat he would think she'd died on her feet. "So we still do that. It's real," he said softly and studied her face for any sign of a reaction.

Savannah exhaled and laughed hysterically, pulling her hands from Seth's and dragging hers through her hair. "This is a really good prank, Seth, genuinely. I'm impressed!" she said when she calmed down. "I don't know how you managed to tame those huge wolves, but it was a great show," she continued, as she sat down on the moss filled ground to catch her breath. Small giggles still erupted from her throat as she stared out into nothingness. Seth looked down at his imprint, befuddled by her reaction. It must be the shock, he figured, as he rubbed his jaw in contemplation. He knelt down in front of Savannah and took her hands in his once again, gently running his thumbs over her knuckles until she turned her gaze to him and met his eyes. "I'm going to show you, if that's okay," he murmured softly. She looked down at the ground, focusing her eyes before she looked back up at him and nodded a silent 'okay'.

Savannah was still convinced it was all just a huge prank, but there was something so earnest and vulnerable in Seth's eyes. She couldn't help but go along with it, and when he stood up and started taking his ripped shirt off she raised a single dark eyebrow. He chuckled and kissed her forehead before he jogged off behind a tree. She could see him remove his shorts and rolled her eyes, 'what a way to romance a girl', the thought went through her mind as she sat on the ground expectantly. She closed her eyes and waited, only opening them when she heard a strange ripping noise, and saw a giant silver and bronze speckled wolf come out from behind the trees where Seth had just been. She gasped, and scrambled to get off the ground, but unable to find grip she just slid backwards until her back was stuck against a tree trunk. Her heart rate shot through the roof as adrenaline pumped through her veins, but she couldn't get herself to move; proving once again that in a fight-or-flight situation she would always fight.

The wolf bowed his huge head and all but crawled on all fours towards her, slow and deliberate. When Savannah uttered a scrambled noise of fear that caught in her throat, he whimpered and stopped, raising his head slightly. Seth was 6 feet away when he raised his head to meet her scared gaze, and laid down on his belly in a show of submission. He rested his head on his giant paws, and waited.

Savannah shook her head slowly, refusing to believe what was right in front of her. The wolf had Seth's eyes, and there was no way to deny it. He rolled over on his side, his gaze never leaving hers. She made another attempt to get up, her knees almost giving in as she clung to the trunk behind her. She took a deep breath, and tried a tentative step forward.

Seth, terrified of scaring her, stayed completely still. Waiting, observing, he saw her walk slowly towards him, until she collapsed on her knees in front of him. "Seth?" she whispered his name, and he slowly raised his muzzle and nodded. She let out a breathy laugh and reached her hand out to scratch his head. Seth leaned his head into her hand and enjoyed the feel of her skin on his fur. She giggled and shook her head in disbelief.

They stayed like that for a while, observing and touching, until Savannah whispered "Seth, come back to me," and stood up. He arose slowly, towering over her for a second, before he jogged back to the tree where he'd shifted and put his shorts back on. Seth walked back to Savannah, who'd stayed where he'd left her a minute before.

She looked up at him and brushed his hair out of his eyes. "You need a haircut Seth, your fur is getting pretty straggled," she murmured as she gazed up into his eyes. "Will you cut if for me?" he mumbled back, knowing the question was a loaded one. "Yes," she replied, a smile spreading across her face. Seth's breathing turned ragged and he enveloped her in his arms, twirling them around as he laughed gleefully.


	10. Acceptance

A/N: here's the follow-up to that super short chapter. Let me know what you think!

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When they eventually made their way back to the house, they walked hand in hand. Savannah was blushing, thinking about their hook up against a tree, while Seth was grinning ear to ear, swinging their entwined hands between them.

He'd kissed her with intent, and she'd been more than happy to reciprocate. He'd pushed her back up against a tree, his hands on her thighs as she wrapped her legs around his waist to keep them stable. Seth had run his hands through her hair as their tongues met. Her arms around his neck, his hands running along the length of her body -just the memory of their encounter made her flush, and she ducked her head down to hide the tell tale signs of bruised lips and what she was sure would be a hickey on her neck.

When they entered the house they were met with wolf whistling, and Kim grabbed Savannah in a tight hug, welcoming her to the club. "You're a Wolf Girl now," she said and they laughed together. The other girls in the group all came up and hugged, but Seth refused to let go of her hand, leading to awkward one armed hugs and giggles. The guys gave Seth much of the same treatment, "it was about time man," and Paul and Liam looked at him sheepishly. "I'm sorry dude, we didn't think-" Seth raised his hand and stopped them mid-apology. "It's chill. You just be happy she decided to stick around, idiots," he said and grinned down at Savannah, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and kissing her temple.

The group disbanded, and Seth and Savannah sat down on the couch to join Embry and Anna in a passionate discussion about the latest NFL game. Savannah honestly had no interest in what they were talking about, and was more than happy to listen to Seth's rumbling bass as he voiced his opinion animatedly. She rested her head on his shoulder, trying her best to assimilate the day's events in her head.

Seth felt Savannah's breath even out, and he knew she'd passed out cold. He chuckled and moved her carefully into his lap. It was almost 9pm, and the pack had began leaving when Kim excused herself to put Chris to bed. He nudged Savannah carefully to wake her up, and she woke up with a disgruntled look on her face. Seth kissed her forehead, shaking his head at her ability to fall asleep anywhere at any time. "Come on, wake up sleepyhead. Time to go," she grumbled and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "How long was I out?"

"Just an hour or so," he replied as he lifted her off the couch and carried her bridal style out the door, shouting his goodbyes to Kim and Jared.

He put her down in front of the car and asked for her keys. She handed them over, and she crawled into the passenger seat when he unlocked the doors. Seth cranked the heat in the car and drove back to her condo. "You okay?" he asked carefully, "with all of this I mean."

She watched him, contemplating her answer. It was a pretty fucking big deal, she thought. He turns into a goddamn wolf at will. Savannah didn't know what to make of it, but decided it didn't matter. He was still Seth, and she was still smitten. When she'd sat down in front of him in the woods and stroked his fur, she'd felt the same sparks as she had when he would hold her hand, and she had felt the same feeling of completion as she felt whenever she was around him.

She bit her lip and nodded, her body speaking before her tongue could form the words. "Yes. I think I am," she said carefully. "I still don't quite get all of -this-" she motioned to him, "but I think I'm okay with it."

Seth released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and he sported the most face splitting grin Savannah had ever seen. His feeling of relief and giddiness was infectious, and she smiled along with him, taking one of his hands in her lap and stroking it with her fingers. She was sure she could fit both of hers in one of his, and she was brought back to the image of the huge wolf.

She held his hand tightly and asked, "so wait. Those attacks, they weren't bears, were they." Her body stilled, and she stared at him. "What did you do to those hikers, Seth?!" she shouted in anger. He flinched, and tried to calm her down. "Savannah, that wasn't us." She glared, "what do you mean us?". He explained to her how all the guys at Jared's were wolves, told her about his sister Leah Clearwater, and the tattoos. She shook her head, a futile attempt at clearing her head. "So what was it that killed those hikers? A stray coyote you couldn't fight?" Savannah asked incredulously. "I saw how big you get, there's nothing you can't beat."

Seth pulled over to the side of the road and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I didn't want to tell you about this Savannah. You already look over your shoulder enough as it is. When are you going to tell me who it is who keeps calling you with a secret number, huh?" Seth could feel his anger ricochet through his body and he fought to remain in control. If he shifted inside the car, he would tear Savannah to shreds. It was a sobering thought, and he felt the tell-tale tremors in his muscles calm down.

Savannah cowered in the corner her arms in a protective position over her head. Seth felt his heart break and jumped out of the car, ripping her door open. "Hey, no no no..." he whispered in her hair as she moved her arms from her head to wrap them around his neck as her torso convulsed and she was reduced to tears. "Don't be scared of me, you never need to be scared of me.." he continued as he rubbed her back and she leaned against him.

The last time a man had shouted at Savannah in that way, Ryan had hit her. It had been the one and only time he ever did, but her gut reaction was still fear. When Seth had wrapped his arms around her, she collapsed against his shoulder and tried to shake the memories of Ryan's glaring eyes out of her head. Flashbacks from a fight about a night out with Cynthia, where she admittedly had had a lot to drink, and Ryan shouting and screaming as she cowered in the car after he picked her up played through her head. 'So fucking irresponsible, huh? You're a fucking mess Savannah, Jesus Christ. You can't even take care of yourself. I have to miss out on the game because you can't fucking drive home. You're so selfish, you deceitful whore. I can't trust you-' Savannah clenched her eyes shut, not wanting the memories to go on. She'd been fine, she was going to stay at Cynthia's place that night when one of Ryan's friends had seen them stumbling down the main street. They were completely fine, but Ryan had never trusted her out alone. The fact that she'd lied and told him she was having dinner with her parents further aggravated him and he'd blown up as soon as he'd brought her back to his apartment. 'You were going to cheat on me, weren't you?' Ridiculous allegations had flown through his mouth as he his anger grew, and when she tried to explain that she just wanted a girl's night out he'd flipped shit. 'I'm not good enough for you, is that it?!' She whimpered and shook her head, willing him to understand, but he was beyond reason. He'd slapped her; resulting in a bruise she had to wear on her face as a mark of shame for weeks afterwards.

She knew Seth would never hurt her; trusting him was as natural as breathing, and she found solace in his warm embrace. As she calmed down, she wiped at her eyes with the sleeves of her sweater, confident her makeup must be everywhere, and Seth leaned back on his toes to study her.

Even puffy eyed and red-faced, she was still the most wonderful thing he'd ever laid eyes on. His stomach turned and her reaction to his outburst left a bad taste in his mouth. "Let me get you home, and I'll explain everything, okay?" his deep baritone rumbled quietly. Savannah nodded tiredly and let him put her back in her seat and buckle her in.

Seth carried her from the car and across the threshold of her apartment, dropping her keys on the kitchen table before sitting her down on her bed. He carefully unlaced her boots and took them off, before picking up her pajamas from the floor of her bedroom and handing them to her. "I'll go get you some water," he whispered before closing the door behind him to offer her some privacy. A few minutes later he returned with two glasses in hand, and put them down on her bedside table before taking her hairbrush.

Savannah changed and washed her face while Seth left the room, and grabbed a fresh pair of her favorite soft socks. Her pajamas consisted of a pair of cotton shorts and a sweater that kept her warm when the temperature dropped at night, the way it did in Forks. She was sitting cross legged on her bed when he came back in, and she smiled softly at him as he grabbed her hairbrush, asking wordlessly for permission to brush her hair. She nodded and as he sat down with his back leaning against the bed frame, she settled between his legs. Savannah revelled in the feeling of his fingers carefully untangling her hair, and how gently he brushed it out. She relaxed, and matched her breathing to his strokes. Her mind wandered to fond childhood memories of her mother's soft hands as she'd worked to untangle the mess Savannah's hair would always end up as after a day of sand and saltwater on the beach. Her parents would always take her out to a beach out of the city on Sundays when she was still young and thought spending time with her folks was the best thing ever, and the image of a beach that looked so similar to First Beach brought her back to the present.

"Tell me," Savannah uttered. Seth took a deep breath, and continued to brush her hair as he told her the story of the Cold Ones.

"Vampires?" she asked, turning around to look at him with that one graceful eyebrow raised, and he nodded. "They kill people, and we kill them. Some of them are nice, like the 'vegetarian' ones that only kill animals, but the rest are just leeches," he explained in a calm voice. Savannah turned around to face him, her legs crossed indian style. "So those hikers, they were killed by vampires?" Seth nodded in confirmation and studied her face as she contemplated this new information. "So you guys are basically just overgrown watchdogs?" she mused, a hint of laughter in her voice.

Seth laughed and nodded, "I guess you could call us that." Their hands sought eachother out, and they intertwined their fingers; Seth leaning against the headboard with his legs spread out, and Savannah sitting in between them, gazing at each other.

She smiled at him coyly. "You're not too bad, I suppose." He tugged on her arms and she laid down, her back to his chest. "I'm glad you think so," he grinned in her hair, a soft chuckle rumbling in his chest, and caressed her arms with his fingertips. She sighed in contentment and relaxed, absorbing the heat from his body around hers. With him in her bed she would never freeze at night, she mused.


	11. A Call

A/N: Since I'm still looking for a beta the editing is taking some time, but I'm trying to get the chapters out with a few days between. Let me know what you think/what you want to see!

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Savannah woke up the next day feeling like she'd left an oil burner on in the room. It was way too hot. She grumbled and opened her eyes, finding herself atop a snoring Seth Clearwater. His arm was slung across her lower back, and a blanket was haphazardly thrown over their legs, trapping his intense body heat in a cocoon of goose feathers. Her alarm went off a minute later, a painful reminder of how she had to go to work, and she carefully, and reluctantly, extracted herself from Seth's grasp to turn it off. She left him sleeping while she showered, and didn't wake him up until she'd made breakfast.

The smell of eggs wafted in through the open door of the bedroom and roused Seth from his sleep. He opened his eyes, and looked around in confusion until he realized where he was. He grinned and rolled over on his side, grabbing Savannah's pillow and burying his nose in it, revelling in its scent. He was awoken again a few minutes later by Savannah's fingers combing through his hair. Seth smiled at her in a daze and stretched, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back into bed. "Let me go, I have to go to work," she laughed as she fought against his hold on her while he snuggled his face in her neck. He grumbled disapprovingly as she repeated herself, and let her go grudgingly. "Come on sleepyhead, I made breakfast."

Seth had never enjoyed half an hour more than he had that morning as he ate with Savannah. They talked some more about the pack before she had to run out the door before she was late for work. He kissed her goodbye and promised he'd clean up before he'd rushed her out the door and waved as she backed out and drove away.

He closed the door and went back into the kitchen to do the dishes. It was a menial task, but he appreciated the simpleness of it. Savannah had a dishwasher, but she'd explained to him how she didn't like to use it.

'There's something cleansing about doing it by hand, you know? It feels like the completion of a meal -like an honourable ending to an important task.' Seth nodded contemplatively. 'I know it sounds silly, but I enjoy it. Also something so fundamental as cooking and eating carries this weight, because you put so much effort into it. Even if it's just takeout, someone somewhere put thought into the preparation and recipe, and it deserves recognition'. Savannah had looked at him with such sincerity he'd had to nod, despite not really feeling the sentiment. 'I never thought about it like that,' he'd replied and they continued cleaning up the kitchen.

Seth had to head out to the Mora Ranger's Office to finish some paperwork and take phone calls at ten, and as soon as he finished up he headed to the bedroom to pick up his shoes. Savannah's phone was on the nightstand and he picked it with the intention of dropping it off at the school before he went to the office. It had a missed call, from late last night, and just as he was about to put it in his backpocket it rang.

'No caller ID,' he mused and hesitated before clicking the flashing green button.

"Hello, this is Savannah's phone, Seth speaking." There was no response on the other end, but he heard shallow breathing through the speaker. "Hello? Who is this?" Seth continued. "Who the fuck are you?" a harsh mans voice replied. "Hey dude, calm down. I'm Savannah's boyfriend, and who the fuck are you?" Seth answered, agitation vivid in his voice. "Oh, that's rich," the man laughed without humor and hung up.

"What the actual fuck," Seth muttered as he put the phone in the pocket of his jeans and headed out. After phasing and running back to his house to pick up his car, Seth ran by the middle school to drop off Savannah's phone.

"When we analyze texts we have to remember that words can have different meanings," Savannah's voice floated through the hallways of the school and Seth leaned against the doorframe as he watched her teach. 'She's brilliant,' he thought as he watched her engage the students in her class.

Savannah felt his presence before she saw him. Her heart tugged, and when she turned around from the black board her lips turned up as she saw Seth by the door. Claire frowned when Savannah stopped explaining the importance of symbolism, or something, mid-sentence and looked over her shoulder. "Uncle Seth!" she exclaimed. "Hey kiddo," he replied warmly at her and turned his gaze back to Savannah, his eyebrows raised in question. "Okay guys, take five minutes and discuss the text I gave you."

She walked over to him and closed the door behind them. She pecked his lips in greeting and Seth grinned lazily back at her. "Hey Ms. Simmons, how's the class going?"

"Oh, it was just fine until you showed up and distracted me," she replied jokingly. Seth intertwined their fingers and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. "Well, I do apologize for my dashing looks. I didn't mean to disrupt the important learning process-" she shook her head and laughed at him, "I bet you're upset, Mr Clearwater. What are you doing here? Couldn't do without me for a few hours?" Savannah said sarcastically. "Not really no, but that's not why I'm here. You forgot your phone at home," he replied as he fished her device out of his pocket and handed it over. "You got a call from an unknown ID this morning, and when I picked up this creepy guy with lung problems and a bad attitude was being obnoxious," Seth said with annoyance.

Savannah froze. He'd called again. And Seth had picked up. "And he asked me who the fuck I was, and when I said I was your boyfriend he sounded really angry. Is there something you need to tell me?" Seth frowned and looked down at her with concern. "You said you were my boyfriend? Isn't that a bit presumptuous of you?" Savannah said teasingly as she tried to cover her nerves with humor. Seth guffawed and widened his eyes in mock offence. "Oh, Simmons. I thought we were dating." Savannah shook her head and cleared her throat. "Let's talk about it when I get home, I have a class to teach. Kim is out sick today and I have to cover for her," she responded quickly. Seth nodded and kissed her goodbye. "I'll be at the office until six, meet at your place for dinner?" he asked and she nodded in confirmation as she moved to open the classroom door.


	12. Driver

**A/N: I'm so sorry it's taken so long! I've been trying to figure out some plotlines, in addition to finishing school, but I think it's gonna get better now. Please let me know what you think!**

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Savannah ran to her car when the last bell rang. Almost ripping the door of the old Volvo off the hinges, she jumped in and drove away. "Fucking hell," she shouted and punched her hands against the steering wheel as she hit the streets. Deciding she needed some space she drove out of Forks and headed to Port Angeles. She didn't know if she was scared or not, but the fact that Ryan had made contact with Seth caused shivers down her spine and a painful knot in her stomach. Ryan was unpredictable, and that was her issue. He'd always been incredibly possessive, limiting her freedom in ways she didn't actually realize until she'd gotten away from him. Savannah wasn't allowed to have any male friends that weren't Ryan's friends, and she could never see them if he wasn't present. She wasn't allowed to go out alone, even if it was just with Cynthia, who he'd all but banned her to see -"she's a bad influence on you, I don't like it," he'd told her. Being the enamoured junior she was she'd just accepted it, but by the time summer came around she'd completely ignored Ryan and started hanging out with Cynthia in secret. 'In secret,' she thought incredulously. All of Ryan's abnormal and unacceptable behaviour had completely passed her by; her feelings for who she thought he was had overshadowed any flaws.

After he'd hit her, she'd lied to her parents and her friends, saying she had been clumsy and accidentally hit her head on her car door. After that event Ryan's behaviour had just escalated, and by the the beginning of her senior year he'd proposed. Savannah's mind muddled with constricting feelings, she'd gone home to her mother and told her everything, and when Savannah turned down his proposal he'd started following her. He would show up at her apartment and the library at all hours of the day, screaming bloody murder and claiming they were meant to be together. It had been tough to go through the case in court, but after being stalked for several months she had no other choice than to get a restraining order.

In court, Ryan had glared at her throughout the procedures, and when the judge granted her the order he'd swore he would have his revenge.

While the restraining order limited him from coming close to her, the court didn't include a no-contact clause so he was still legally allowed to contact her. That meant that she couldn't actually call the police as he hadn't breached the limits of the contract. She had no legal grounds if she contacted the authorities about it, as he hadn't issued any direct threats and she didn't have any actual evidence that the unknown caller was really him.

Savannah knew that when Seth had presented himself as her boyfriend he'd triggered something in Ryan -the very thing she had run away from -his jealousy and his lack of restraint or remorse. The emotional abuse he had put her through had taken a year in therapy to work through, and now that her life seemed to get on track he was trying to ruin it.

"I need a goddamn drink," she muttered to herself, arguing that she didn't have classes until ten tomorrow as she raced down the highway to Port Angeles. It was already dark when she parked downtown and ducked into the first sleazy bar she could find

As she waited for the bartender to finish her Gin Tonic she checked the time on her wristwatch. 'It's already six,' she thought. "Shit, it's six. Seth," she whispered to herself and digged through her purse for her phone. She sent Seth a quick text saying she wouldn't be back until later and that she would see him tomorrow before placing her phone back in her purse as the bartender handed her her drink. She muttered a 'thanks', and swiveled on the high chair to people watch. She didn't like sitting with her back to people; she needed to be aware of who were in the room, that way she was never surprised.

But when she lifted her gaze to the far corner of the bar she frowned. Anna, Embry's girlfriend, was there with some other girl she didn't recognize. Savannah turned around quickly, not feeling like small talk and gossip and hid behind the curtain of her long hair. The girls were laughing, and the sound filled the small dark bar with a mood that certainly did not fit the ambiance of the place. They didn't exactly seem like the average clientele, Savannah mused to herself as she twirled the straw in her drink. Wearing her work clothes consisting of dark pants, leather boots and a grey melange wool sweater, topped of with her wavy honey blonde hair, she realized she didn't exactly fit the bill herself, and caught herself giggling.

"Savannah? Hey! What are you doing here all by your lonesome?" she heard Anna's soft voice exclaim from her right. "Hey Anna, I didn't know you were here," Savannah turned and hugged Anna in greeting. "Oh it's a girls night. I met an old friend of mine at the mall today so we decided to catch up," Anna continued excitedly. "I don't want to keep you, Anna, if you're here with a friend," Savannah hinted subtly. Too subtly it would appear, as Anna told her her friend was just about to leave anyways and sat down on a stool next to her.

"So what are you up to?" Anna asked. Savannah let out an exasperated sigh and nodded to her drink. Anna frowned and asked in sympathy, "rough day, huh?"

"You could say so," Savannah said with mirth. "Boy trouble?" Anna continued as she sat down in the stool next her. Savannah nodded glumly in response. "I remember when me and Embry had it out the first time. I didn't talk to him for two days until I finally gave in and just accepted it for what it is, you know?" Anna mused and ordered a glass of water, intending to sober up for the drive home.

"Accepted what?" Savannah asked and turned toward her. Anna froze. 'Darnit, good job Anna. She doesn't know yet.' She fixed her face with a smile, "oh you know, how I couldn't stay mad at him forever;" she lied. Well, it wasn't a lie per sé, it just wasn't the truth in that specific context, she smiled to herself, convinced that this was a white lie and thus okay in her book.

"You took it really well, Savannah. You know, the whole 'wolf'-thing", Anna commented. "I'm pretty sure I fainted when he showed me, and then I tried to look up local mental institutions because there was just no way in hell it could be true, you know?" she laughs, and Savannah nods in agreement. Anna's infectious laughter has Savannah giggling in tandem, and soon they were both in high spirits. "Do you ever worry about lice or ticks?" Savannah asked jokingly. The laughter continues while Anna shakes her head, while secretly admitting that she does add some deterrent in Embry's shampoo, just in case. Three drinks later, Savannah found it was incredibly liberating and relaxing to talk to Anna. She completely understood Savannah's situation, and they could talk about their crazy lives freely, with no fear of either one ratting out the pack. But when Anna broached the subject of sex and how it's mindblowing, Savannah blushed and excused herself to the restroom.

Savannah stared at her reflection in the mirror, studying the worry-lines that were starting to show between her eyebrows and sighed. 'He's not going to come here, he'll leave me alone,' she appeased herself, her drunken mind all but willing to accept that statement.

"Hey Anna, your phone was buzzing in your bag," Anna was downing her fourth drink when Savannah returned from the restroom. Savannah frowned and found her phone, opening the screen in apprehension. "It's just Seth," she whispered to herself in relief. Dialing back, it only took about three seconds before he picked up. "Hey you," he breathed into the receiver. "Hey," she replied, a slow smile on her lips. "Where are you? What's all that noise?"

"Oh, I'm in Port Angeles with Anna. We're just having a few drinks, you know -girl time."

"Ahh, okay. You seemed pretty upset earlier, are you okay?" he asked, concern laced in his voice. Savannah sighed and nodded, it took her a second to reply.

"Yeah, I'm fine, honestly. I was just stressed out, you know."

"Alright, babe. How are you getting home? I mean, if you've both been drinking I don't want you guys out on the road, and I promise you Embry would agree."

"I didn't even think about that," she muttered to herself as her inebriated mind tried to figure out how to get herself and her car home in one piece.

"Hey Savannah, I'll come pick you guys up." Befuddled she replies, "but that's just gonna leave us with three cars here."

He chuckled, before he replied;

"I'm not gonna drive to Port Angeles, babe."


	13. Reveals and Embraces

A/N: Here it is! She finally tells him. I'll try to update again soon. Please let me know what you think!

Seth held Savannah's hand the entire drive back, while Anna snored softly in the backseat. He was humming to a tune Savannah wasn't familiar with, but she enjoyed the way his deep baritone reverberated through his chest, resulting in a calming hour trip.

"Did you have fun?" Seth whispered, as to not disturb Anna. "Yeah, it was really nice," Savannah smiled at him. "It was great to talk to someone in the same dog house, so to speak." Seth snorted, and glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. "I'm inclined to take offence, Miss Simmons."

Seth had promised Brady he'd be home that night, and had to leave after dropping off Anna at Embry's and getting Savannah home. "D'you really have to go?" Savannah pouted as they stood on the front steps to her apartment. "Yeah, I do. How much did you have to drink?" Seth asked as he watched her sway slightly, obviously unstable on her feet. Just as she was about to fall over, he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook his head. He carried her inside and sat her down on her bed. She was frowning, barely awake. Seth kneeled down on the floor and started pulling her boots off, and Savannah fell backwards on the bed with a sigh. Within minutes she was asleep.

* * *

Savannah woke up with a raging headache the next day. Seth had left a bottle of water and two advil on her nightstand, alongside a note telling her he'd see her after work, and Savannah couldn't help her face-splitting grin.

She looked disgruntledly in the mirror and resigned herself to wearing two layers of concealer to work that day. It was uncharacteristically sunny, and so she chose a white button-up shirt, jeans, boots, and a thick burgundy cardigan to keep the chilly winds at bay. After brushing her dark blonde hair into some semblance of order, she had some cereal for breakfast before leaving for work.

Seth was on tourist duty at the Ranger Station, and got to spend the entire day giving hiking tips to overexcited Italians with bad English. By the time the clock hit 5, he practically pushed them out of his office. He went back to his place to change out of his uniform and into a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. Seth was just about to call Savannah when he got a text from her.

*Dinner?*

*I thought you'd never ask. Your place?*

*Yup! Chinese okay?*

*I'll be right there.*

* ;) *

Seth grinned and stuffed his phone in his backpocket before getting in his car and driving to Forks.

Savannah smiled when she heard Seth open the door and shuffle off his shoes in the hallway. "I'm in here!" She shouted from her spot on the living room floor, surrounded by take-out boxes. Seth settled down next to her, leaning back against the couch and kissed her in greeting. She smiled at him and handed him an empty plate and cutlery. "I didn't feel like cooking tonight," Savannah said and looked at him expectantly. "This is perfect Savannah, thank you," Seth pecked her lips again and loaded up his plate.

"How was today?" he asked her with a smirk. "Just fine, thank you. It actually wasn't bad. I had a good day at work, Kim was feeling a lot better so she had my back," Savannah explained as they ate. "To be honest I think she might be pregnant," she mused.

Seth shrugged and inhaled his food. "The wolves are infamous for being very… potent," he wiggled his eyebrows at her, earning a snort followed by a "Wait what, really?"

Their evening followed the pattern of any other night. After they cleared up the food, they retreated to the couch and watched some TV while Seth dozed in his food-induced coma.

He was sitting upright, with Savannah snuggled into his side. One of his hands was resting on her back, keeping her close.

Around midnight Savannah had finally worked up the courage to do what she knew needed to be done. She turned off the TV, and the room was enveloped in darkness.

"Seth?"

He stirred awake and looked down at her, "Yeah?"

"What are we?"

Seth chuckled and straightened his position on the couch. "Well, we're dating. Exclusively I hope."

"Is that what you told him?"

Her voice was small as she stared up at him with wide eyes; her doe-like gaze catching the light of the moon which shone through the window of her otherwise dark living room.

There was something about her expression that made Seth grow still, and hesitantly he nodded. "Something like that, yes."

Savannah didn't know what to do. On one hand, he deserved to know -on the other, she didn't know if she wanted him to. There was something about the goodness of Seth she didn't want to infect with her horrible past. But the way he was looking at her; his eyebrows knotted in concern, his posture dedicating every part of him to her -it was sobering. And although life is never fair, she figured hiding such a huge part of her life was incredibly unfair. She gingerly removed herself from Seth's arms and turned to face him, her fingers twisting nervously in her lap.

"I thought I deserved it. I know I didn't, my therapist has made sure I know, but I still used to think that I deserved the way he treated me. That that was the way a perfect boyfriend acts, even if he was invasive and threatening," Savannah spoke fast and avoided meeting Seth's concerned gaze as she told him everything. How Ryan had isolated her from her family and friends, how he'd manipulated her, and eventually how he'd gotten violent.

"That's why I got so scared in the car that night," she said quietly as she finished. "It's why I always look over my shoulder. It's why I moved to this remote village in the middle of nowhere."

"Is he the one who keeps calling you?" Seth asked carefully. He was using every ounce of self control he had to not go ripping through the state to hunt down this Ryan. Ryan, the man who had hurt his imprint, his Savannah.

She nodded in response, finally lifting her gaze to meet his. The sadness in his eyes was battling the anger threatening right under the surface, but in the end the sadness won out.

"I don't want you to pity me Seth," Savannah said defiantly and crossed her arms over her chest. Shaking his head, Seth replied "I don't pity you, Savannah. I'm just sad because this happened to you. I'm sad because I can turn into a wolf, but I can't turn back time and make you forget. But more than anything I'm sad because I wasn't there to protect you."

The honesty in his voice shook Savannah to the bone. He reached out and held her hands, and the feeling of his large warm fingers covering her small ones was like the physical embodiment of the allegory Seth wanted her to feel. "He's never going to touch you, ever again. And tomorrow we're getting you a new phone number. I'll keep you safe, I promise."

A lump caught in her throat, and Savannah could feel a tear sliding down her cheek. "Okay," she whispered. "I trust you."

Seth moved his hands up her arms to her shoulders and pulled her into his lap. Savannah was more than willing to comply, and let him wrap himself around her as if he alone could keep her safe from all harm.

Savannah nuzzled his neck, and slowly but surely began covering the expanse of brawny skin in small kisses. Seth inhaled sharply. "Savannah…" her name left his lips on an exhalation and this only encouraged her.

High on trust and the fact that she had just shared her horrid past with him and he was still there, she led him into her bedroom and pushed him down on her bed.

She hadn't been with another guy since Ryan, and the butterflies of unfamiliarity and new experience ran amok in her stomach. "Just give me a second," she whispered and ran to the bathroom.

"You can do this", she told herself as she changed into the blue lace number she'd picked up in Port Angeles for just this occasion, and mentally prepared herself for what was about to happen.

Seth's mind was reeling. Thoughts of abusive stalker ex-boyfriends were fighting the mental images of Savannah in bed and he was conflicted. Up until the moment she reappeared from the bathroom and took his breath away. Her hair was flowing past her shoulders in the shade of dark honey, and her round hips and trim waist scrambled his head as he stood up to meet her.

Reaching out his arms, he was pleased when she moved into his embrace and pushed him back down on the bed.


	14. Gossip

The sound of quiet gasps and moans filled the dark room, and it was hours later when Seth eventually relented. "Holy shit," Savannah whispered, breathing heavily. "You can say that again," Seth chuckled and stroked the naked skin of her back with the tips of his fingers. Her head was resting on his chest, one of her legs draped unceremoniously over his, and she felt perfectly content.

Savannah had never been as reluctant to get out of bed as when the alarm went off at 6am the next morning. Groaning, she reached over Seth to reach her phone, only for him to beat her to it. "Turn that heinous thing off," she muttered and buried her face in his neck. He chuckled and kissed the top of her head as he placed the phone back on the nightstand, alarm off.

"Good morning to you too," he murmured and tightened his grip around her waist, splaying a warm hand across her lower back. Savannah sighed. "Do we have to get up?" she murmured sleepily and snuggled closer to him. "Oh, it seems like someone already is," Savannah giggled and leaned up on her elbow to look Seth in the eye. "Can you blame me? Not only is it morning, but I've had this"- he moved his hand from her back, down to her bum -" rubbing up on me all night."

Savannah looked at him with mock apology in her expression. "Oh, I'm so sorry for causing you such discomfort, Seth. Really. I'll wear clothes next time, I promise."

Seth guffawed and shook his head, "please don't."

Savannah sat up on her knees, the sheets pooling around her thighs, leaving the rest of her uncovered. Seth's eyes wandered across her torso and he pursed his lips appreciatively as memories of how soft the creamy skin of her breasts felt, and how heavy they'd been in the palms of his hands -"And you are insatiable, Mister Clearwater," Savannah stated as she straddled him for a proper goodmorning.

An hour later Savannah was rushing to brush her teeth and tie the laces of her boots at the same time in an attempt to not be too late for work."Stop distracting me!" She was trying her hardest to stay out of Seth's reach, as every time his hands got a grip on her hips her mind only went one place.

Seth eventually relented and let her finish getting ready. "I'll go into town and get you a new sim card with a new phone number today, babe." She'd almost forgotten their conversation from last night due to the rather overwhelming aftermath, and Seth's dedication to his promise was heartwarming. "Thank you," she said as she kissed him softly. Seth draped his arms around her and kissed her forehead, "you're welcome."

"Yo Seth!" Embry shouted across the parking lot outside the supermarket. "Yeah, what's up?" Seth replied absentmindedly as Embry jogged up beside him.

"Ready for tonight?" Seth looked at Embry in confusion. "Anna is coming over to Savannah's place for a girl's night, and we're watching the game, remember?"

"Ah shit, yeah. Sorry, I'm out of it today." Embry took a deep breath and stopped in front of him. "You haven't told her yet? Are you fucking serious? Seth-"

"No, I know -"

"You've practically moved in with her, AND she knows you're a wolf, but she doesn't know the most central part, which actually revolves around her?"

Seth huffed and shrugged. "I don't know how to tell her. And I haven't moved in with her; I still pay my share of the rent, don't I?"

"Don't get snarky with me, man. We all know that won't be for long anyways," Embry grumbled and jokingly punched him in the arm. Seth rubbed his shoulder and they both laughed.

"You here about the phone?" Embry asked sympathetically. He'd seen what Savannah had told Seth the previous night through the pack mind when they'd patrolled together that morning. With the size of the pack, which had grown exponentially when during the Cullen-Volturi debacle, a lot of the older wolves had retired. Still, they had a large enough pack that they only needed to run four hour shifts a few times a week. The younger wolves had had enough time running and fighting nomads by themselves now that the older members, like Jared, Seth, Embry, and Quil no longer needed to run with them 'just-in-case'; the way they had in the beginning, when many of them were barely 16. When Sam had retired a few years back, Jared had taken his place as Alpha without any drama. Seth was chosen to be Beta, and Embry was made Third-in-Command - a setup very similar to the one they'd run with in the Black pack.

"Yeah. I hate feeling this helpless. I can't do anything about it, either. She likes being strong on her own, you know?"

Embry nodded. "But that's the thing about the imprint, isn't it. She doesn't have to be; you'll always be in it together," he said meaningfully and left Seth to his thoughts.

After an exhausting yet wonderful night, Savannah beat the drowsiness with coffee and high spirits. Her talk with Seth yesterday had lifted a heavy burden off her shoulders and knocked down the walls she'd put up around herself. Normally that'd make her feel uncomfortable, but with Seth it felt so right. It was strange, she thought, the feeling of completeness she felt around him, and how there was a piece of her soul missing when he wasn't there. She was released from her musings when the bell rang and a group of rowdy tweens ran into her classroom for their History class and effectively dismissed her mind from her personal life, and into the life of Abraham Lincoln.

"Hell-ooo!" Anna's voice rang through Savannah'a condo that night. "I've got the supplies, you got the products?" Savannah laughed and nodded, while helping Anna get the snacks she brought, into the kitchen. "I have nail polish, tweezers, and a season of Criminal Minds loaded and ready," Savannah replied as they put the chips and chocolate in bowls. They made their way into the living room, propped their feet on the coffee table and proceeded to begin their evening of girl time.

"I think Kim's pregnant," Savannah told Anna. "Really?" "Yeah, she's been out sick a lot and had me cover her morning classes for a week now."

Anna nodded and stuffed her face with a hand full of chips. "Well, I'm not surprised. Her and Jared have been together for years now. I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner, to be honest. The wolf boys are known for their -ahem- potency, if you know what I mean." Savannah met Anna's eyes and they cackled.

Seth and Embry were slouched on the two couches of their house. "Jared called. He ain't coming, as expected. Kim's been throwing up all afternoon," Seth said. Embry sighed and took a deep drag of his beer. "As much as I love Anna and can't wait to have kids with her, I still want another few years of her all to myself before I have to share."

"You know how much they want this. For a while Jared was scared they wouldn't be able to have kids, remember? That was rough."

Nodding, Embry proposed a celebratory cheers in honour of Jared and the power of his loins, both of them hoping it wouldn't be them for at least a little while.

"I'm still waiting for Embry to ask me to marry him," Anna said while nipping on her wine glass. "It's not like there's ever going to be anyone else, so why won't he just ask me already." Savannah nodded, "when you know, you know, I guess."

"It's not just that. I mean, we're meant for each other. Marriage is just a formality, and it shouldn't matter that damn much, but it does!" Anna said passionately and swallowed the contents of her wine glass in a single swig.

"I don't know if I'm the marrying kind, to be honest," Savannah replied and picked at her cuticles. "Really? Seth must be doing it all wrong, then," Anna laughed. "You can't see it? The white picket fence, the backyard, and the kids. Like Emily."

Savannah sighed. " I mean, I'm just not sure if that's in the cards for me. I don't know if that's in the cards for Seth and I." Anna looked at her, only poorly concealing her shock.


	15. Changes

A/N: I'm so sorry about how long it's been since I've updated, but between graduation and life I haven't found the time nor energy. Hopefully things will get better now! I'm sorry about how short this chapter is, but things are picking up!

R&amp;R!

* * *

A few hours later, Embry dropped off Seth and picked up Anna from Savannah's apartment. Anna, a little tipsy, had drunk-whispered to Seth "that he needed to lock that girl down, fast," before Embry hoisted her up over his shoulder and carried her giggling body back to his car, smiling apologetically to Seth.

Seth shook his head and closed the door, before heading to the kitchen to help Savannah clean up. "How was it?" he asked as he dried the dishes she had washed. "It was really nice. Anna is a tad intense, but I had fun," she laughed. "I really appreciate having another wolf girl around, someone who gets this." She vaguely motioned towards him with a hand gesture. Seth smiled at the term. "I get that. I know this whole thing was not what you were expecting when you came to Forks-" he turned to face her, "but I'm glad you did." He embraced her and lifted her up, hugging Savannah tight. She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered to herself, "me too."

That night, while Savannah was asleep, Seth quietly snuck out to run his patrol. He grabbed the blanket they never used and put it over her, knowing she'd be cold, without both him - and it. After changing into his shorts, he locked the door and ran into the forest. He tied the shorts to his ankle and shifted, finding Collin and Jared already there. 'Hey man, we're over by First Beach, running the perimeter. Start over by the southern line, and we'll be evenly spread,' Jared said. 'Any sight of the vampire?' Seth asked as he headed towards his point. 'No, not yet. Not even a fresh scent. But Brady told me he picked up on a new one yesterday, so keep your head in the game,' Jared replied as Seth speeded up. He loved running. He loved the feeling of nothing but cold dirt and pine needles under his feet, and the freedom of the speed. But now, just like the weeks before, he couldn't enjoy it the way he used to because his mind was miles away. Specifially, his mind was in a small condo in Forks. 'Shut up, Seth', Collin called through the pack mind. 'I wasn't saying anything,' Seth retorted, and had he been in human form there would have been a tinge of pink across his face. 'You don't need to speak to be annoying me with the imprint shit.' 'Knock it off, Collin. One day you'll get it,' Jared said and effectively mummed Collin.

The perimeter had been extended from around the reservation to also cover Forks, ever since the Cullens had left. With the amount of pack members they'd gained over the years they never had issues with the extra few miles to cover, or having reasonable patrol schedules. It allowed for the pack to hold regular jobs and a semblance of regular lives, especially now that it had been relatively quiet for years. The Cullens had made a statement to all other vampires on the west coast when they'd made their stand against the Vulturis almost a decade ago, and most of them accepted that this was their turf; despite the fact that they lived all the way up in Alaska now.

Which is why the sudden influx of what appeared to be nomads had the pack concerned. It had only been a couple of them the past few months, but lately the same one had circled the area for a while. The addition of a new scent had all of them worried. He'd always had a complicated relationship with vampires, ever since he and Edward had become friends. They hadn't spoken in a while now, but he, as well as Jared and Quil, were now considering contacting the Cullens to see if they knew anything.

'Fuck!' Collins voice rang through the pack mind. Seth zeroed in on his location as he watched Collin fight a dark haired woman through Collin's eyes. With Jared and Seth had just arrived when Collin had the vampire on the ground, giving it the death stroke by ripping it's head off. 'A vampire this close to the reservation? Something's not right about this,' Jared thought and looked at his pack brothers.

It was hours later when Seth finished his patrol and made his way back to Savannah's place. He took a quick shower to wash the grime and adrenaline off his body, and after drying off he walked back into the bedroom to find Savannah in a position he'd begun to recognise. Whenever Seth would have a night shift, he'd come back to find her on her stomach, one arm under her pillow, and the other one, and a leg, stretched out across the bed to where he usually slept. He removed the blanket that kept her warm at night when he wasn't there, and crawled up under the sheet. He lifted her arm and leg and cozied up against her, feeling her breathing slow as she nuzzled up against him.

'She's gotta feel this too,' he thought as he fell asleep against the soft body of his imprint.


	16. Kim and Kennedy

A/N: Hi guys! I'm so grateful for those of you who leave reviews, please keep them coming! I know I've dragged on the imprinting thing, but here it finally is! I'll try to update as soon as possible, but this college thing is a time cruncher. R&amp;R!

* * *

Seth and Savannah eventually managed to drag themselves out of bed the next day and headed to work. Seth was still trying to figure out what had caused the influx of vampires in the peninsula and after staring at the empty computer screen at the Ranger's office for twenty minutes he resolved to calling up Edward. They were old friends and usually spoke regularly, but since Seth had met Savannah it'd completely slipped his mind.

The Cullens were currently living all the way down south in Argentina, at the very bottom of the South American continent for a change. With Nessie's growth spurts they'd decided that a complete change of scenery would give them the privacy they needed for her to grow up without fear.

"Seth! How are you?" Edward answered on the second ring. "I'm actually doing great, Edward. I imprinted," Seth said enthusiastically. "Really? I'm happy for you, my friend. But taking that into consideration, I assume you didn't just call to catch up," Edward replied with mirth. Having watched imprinting through the minds of the pack, and in Jake's mind over time, he understood the tight bond between wolf and mate. "No, I didn't," Seth sighed in response and scratched his jaw. "There's been a lot of vampires running through Washington lately, and for no apparent reason. There's only been a couple of deaths though, so it's got all of us pretty confused."

"Alice hasn't seen anything from the Volturi, so I doubt it's coming from them. I'll make some calls, and have Carlisle do the same and see if anyone knows something we don't. I'll have Alice on the look out, too."

"Thanks so much, Edward."

"I'm sorry I couldn't provide you with anything useful, but I'll let you know as soon as we hear something. I'm sorry you can't enjoy lazy days with your new imprint," Edward said apologetically.

"It's alright. Got the rest of my life for that, right?" Seth laughed. "By the way, you've been down there for quite a while now, you guys coming our way anytime soon?"

"I'm not quite sure, but not just yet. We're considering Alaska or Vancouver, maybe Calgary; but that won't be for another year or two at least. Charlie is growing old, and Bella and Nessie want to be closer to him. I also know that Jake is missing his furry friends," Edward joked, and after exchanging their goodbyes they hung up.

Feeling no more successful after their talk, Seth checked the Ranger's patrol list and noticed one of his coworkers hadn't returned from the 4am rounds yet. Noting that it was almost midday, Seth frowned. He grabbed his gun and badge and headed out the door, changing the sign from 'OPEN' to 'CLOSED' on his way out.

Savannah had had a far better day thus far, and had just sat down for lunch with Kim. "So… How are you feeling today, Kim?" Savannah asked suggestively. "God, how did you know? I'm not even past my first trimester, we haven't even told my parents yet," she replied, exhaustion all over her face. "So you are pregnant?" "Yes, I am." Kim sighed in defeat. "Did Seth tell you?"

Confused, Savannah knitted her eyebrows and looked at her. "If you aren't telling anyone how would Seth know?"

Kim's eyes widened and she bit her lip, trying to find a decent lie. "I guess Jared let it slip. Seth's not a stupid guy," she stuttered out, smiling nervously. Deciding to let sleeping dogs lie, Savannah nodded in agreement, and they finished their lunch and went back to the kids.

Seth sighed morosely when he found the body of the presumed missing Ranger in a stretch of forest about half mile from the patrol route. Seth had picked up on the scent fairly quickly, even in human form, and he had his suspicions confirmed when he found the body with a nasty neck wound and drained of blood. The stench of bleach emanating from the area told him what he already knew. He called Jared, and he was there ten minutes later.

"Another one. Did Edward know anything about this?" Jared asked. Seth shook his head and told him the summary of their conversation. "Well I guess we'd better step up patrols for now, until we know more," Jared stated.

After guiding the police and coroner to the site and watching them discern that a mountain lion attack must've been the cause of death, Seth was exhausted and headed home. 'Home,' he thought. He knew it was Savannah's place, technically, but wherever she was, was where home was for him. 'I gotta tell her. I gotta tell her today,' Seth decided.

It wasn't until after five that Savannah locked up the classroom and left for the day. She had spent over an hour planning the next few week's assignments with Kim, and was more than ready to leave John Wilkes Booth and the Kennedy Theatre at school. After hugging Kim goodbye, she drove home. Savannah's mind was churning on the way, and the subject of her inner turmoil were things the other wolf girls had said. 'Obviously there's something I don't know that pertains to me', she deduced as she parked the car and headed for her condo.

Seth had fallen asleep in a very awkward position on her couch which was way too small for his large frame. His neck was at an angle she knew would bother him in the morning and grabbed a pillow from the bedroom to prop under his head. Seth had woken up when she'd opened the door, but decided to let her have some time for herself. At least, that's what he told himself. Wanting to postpone the 'talk' as much as possible, he dozed for another hour while she made dinner, not waking up until she kneeled in front of the couch and stroked his hair.

Savannah ran her fingers through his short, black hair and gently woke him up to tell him to come eat. She was always humoured by the sight of his huge body perched around her tiny kitchen table, and had accepted that his long legs were always going to be stretched out claiming most of the space underneath.

Seth was unusually quiet, and when Savannah pushed for him to tell her what happened, he unwillingly told her about how he'd found the Ranger from his station earlier that day. Savannah dropped the fork onto her plate and covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my God, Seth. Was it vampires again?" she asked quietly, the shock still vibrating through her body. She knew Seth dealt with death on the regular, but those weren't people. The mental image of Seth finding his coworker's corpse had her heart breaking for him. "Yeah, it was," Seth sighed heavily and took her small hand in his. "But we're dealing with this, Savannah. You're perfectly safe from them, don't even worry about it. I'll keep you safe; I swear on my life, you'll never be harmed," he said passionately and kissed each of her fingers. She nodded, her eyes glazing over. "But it's not me I'm worried about," she murmured quietly.

Seth met her gaze and held it for a heartbeat before making up his mind and setting his shoulders. "Savannah, there's something I have to tell you." Pulling her up and leading her to the living room, he nudged her down on the couch and sat down on the coffee table, facing her.

Savannah bit her lip and looked at him in a apprehension. "First of all, Savannah, I love you. With everything I have. And I know it's soon, but I do -" She grabbed his hands and intertwined them with her own. "Seth, I know it's strange and soon, but I love you too." His shoulders sank in relief, but he wasn't done yet. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that, you have no idea. But the thing is that it isn't strange. Savannah, it's not. We're meant to be together." He took a deep breath and plunged. "You know I turn into a wolf. You know about the pack, and you know how we protect people from vampires. You also know how Jared would lay down his life Kim, as Embry would for Anna." Savannah, unsure of where this was going, nodded carefully and looked at him, motioning him to continue. "The thing is that us wolves, we don't just turn into wolves. We also imprint. There are different theories as to why we imprint, but what it essentially means is that when we meet our soulmate, our entire life shifts. We don't see other women anymore; all we see is her. And she's the core of our universe, the most important essence of our existence." Seth took a deep breath and tightened his fingers around hers, bringing her hands up to rest against his heart. "Savannah, when I met you on that beach that night, I imprinted on you. You're it for me." He looked at her, his body and soul vulnerable and scared as he watched her mind wrap itself around the information.

She shook her head slowly as if to clear her mind and stood up quickly. "Seth…I don't know if I can be that for you." She stammered as her eyes watered. "I just… I need a minute. I can't do this right now," she dropped her hands from his and ran out the door.

Seth's heart broke into a million pieces as he heard her car start and leave the lot. What he didn't know was that her heart did the very same.


	17. Bleach

Seth and Savannah eventually managed to drag themselves out of bed the next day and headed to work. Seth was still trying to figure out what had caused the influx of vampires in the peninsula and after staring at the empty computer screen at the Ranger's office for twenty minutes he resorted to calling Edward. They were old friends and usually spoke regularly, but since Seth had met Savannah it'd completely slipped his mind.

The Cullens were currently living all the way down south in Argentina, at the very bottom of the South American continent for a change. With Nessie's growth spurts they'd decided that a complete change of scenery would give them the privacy they needed for her to grow up without fear.

"Seth! How are you?" Edward answered on the second ring. "I'm actually doing great, Edward. I imprinted," Seth said enthusiastically. "Really? I'm happy for you, my friend. But taking that into consideration, I assume you didn't just call to catch up," Edward replied with mirth. Having watched imprinting through the minds of the pack, and in Jake's mind over time, he understood the tight bond between wolf and mate. "No, I didn't," Seth sighed in response and scratched his jaw. "There's been a lot of vampires running through Washington lately, and for no apparent reason. There's only been a couple of deaths though, so it's got all of us pretty confused."

"Alice hasn't seen anything from the Volturi, so I doubt it's coming from them. I'll make some calls, and have Carlisle do the same and see if anyone knows something we don't. I'll have Alice on the look out, too."

"Thanks so much, Edward."

"I'm sorry I couldn't provide you with anything useful, but I'll let you know as soon as we hear something. I'm sorry you can't enjoy lazy days with your new imprint," Edward said apologetically.

"It's alright. Got the rest of my life for that, right?" Seth laughed. "By the way, you've been down there for quite a while now, you guys coming our way anytime soon?"

"I'm not quite sure, but not just yet. We're considering Alaska or Vancouver, maybe Calgary; but that won't be for another year or two at least. Charlie is growing old, and Bella and Nessie want to be closer to him. I also know that Jake is missing his furry friends," Edward joked, and after exchanging their goodbyes they hung up.

Feeling no more successful after their talk, Seth checked the Ranger's patrol list and noticed one of his coworkers hadn't returned from the 4am rounds yet. Noting that it was almost midday, Seth frowned. He grabbed his gun and badge and headed out the door, changing the sign from 'OPEN' to 'CLOSED' on his way out.

Savannah had had a far better day thus far, and had just sat down for lunch with Kim. "So… How are you feeling today, Kim?" Savannah asked suggestively. "God, how did you know? I'm not even past my first trimester, we haven't even told my parents yet," she replied, exhaustion all over her face. "So you are pregnant?" "Yes, I am." Kim sighed in defeat. "Did Seth tell you?"

Confused, Savannah knitted her eyebrows and looked at her. "If you aren't telling anyone how would Seth know?"

Kim's eyes widened and she bit her lip, trying to find a decent lie. "I guess Jared let it slip. Seth's not a stupid guy," she stuttered out, smiling nervously. Deciding to let sleeping dogs lie, Savannah nodded in agreement, and they finished their lunch and went back to the kids.

Seth sighed morosely when he found the body of the presumed missing Ranger in a stretch of forest about half mile from the patrol route. Seth had picked up on the scent fairly quickly, even in human form, and he had his suspicions confirmed when he found the body with a nasty neck wound and drained of blood. The stench of bleach emanating from the area told him what he already knew. He called Jared, and he was there ten minutes later.

"Another one. Did Edward know anything about this?" Jared asked. Seth shook his head and told him the summary of their conversation. "Well I guess we'd better step up patrols for now, until we know more," Jared stated.

After guiding the police and coroner to the site and watching them discern that a mountain lion attack must've been the cause of death, Seth was exhausted and headed home. 'Home,' he thought. He knew it was Savannah's place, technically, but wherever she was, was where home was for him. 'I gotta tell her. I gotta tell her today,' Seth decided.

It wasn't until after five that Savannah locked up the classroom and left for the day. She had spent over an hour planning the next few week's assignments with Kim, and was more than ready to leave John Wilkes Booth and the Kennedy Theatre at school. After hugging Kim goodbye, she drove home. Savannah's mind was churning on the way, and the subject of her inner turmoil were things the other wolf girls had said. 'Obviously there's something I don't know that pertains to me', she deduced as she parked the car and headed for her condo.

Seth had fallen asleep in a very awkward position on her couch which was way too small for his large frame. His neck was at an angle she knew would bother him in the morning and grabbed a pillow from the bedroom to prop under his head. Seth had woken up when she'd opened the door, but decided to let her have some time for herself. At least, that's what he told himself. Wanting to postpone the 'talk' as much as possible, he dozed for another hour while she made dinner, not waking up until she kneeled in front of the couch and stroked his hair.

Savannah ran her fingers through his short, black hair and gently woke him up to tell him to come eat. She was always humoured by the sight of his huge body perched around her tiny kitchen table, and had accepted that his long legs were always going to be stretched out claiming most of the space underneath.

Seth was unusually quiet, and when Savannah pushed for him to tell her what happened, he unwillingly told her about how he'd found the Ranger from his station earlier that day. Savannah dropped the fork onto her plate and covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my God, Seth. Was it vampires again?" she asked quietly, the shock still vibrating through her body. She knew Seth dealt with death on the regular, but those weren't people.

The mental image of Seth finding his coworker's corpse had her heart breaking for him. "Yeah, it was," Seth sighed heavily and took her small hand in his. "But we're dealing with this, Savannah. You're perfectly safe from them, don't even worry about it. I'll keep you safe; I swear on my life, you'll never be harmed," he said passionately and kissed each of her fingers. She nodded, her eyes glazing over. "But it's not me I'm worried about," she murmured quietly.

Seth met her gaze and held it for a heartbeat before making up his mind and setting his shoulders. "Savannah, there's something I have to tell you." Pulling her up and leading her to the living room, he nudged her down on the couch and sat down on the coffee table, facing her.

Savannah bit her lip and looked at him in a apprehension. "First of all, Savannah, I love you. With everything I have. And I know it's soon, but I do -" She grabbed his hands and intertwined them with her own. "Seth, I know it's strange and soon, but I love you too." His shoulders sank in relief, but he wasn't done yet.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that, you have no idea. But the thing is that it isn't strange. Savannah, it's not. We're meant to be together." He took a deep breath and plunged. "You know I turn into a wolf. You know about the pack, and you know how we protect people from vampires. You also know how Jared would lay down his life Kim, as Embry would for Anna." Savannah, unsure of where this was going, nodded carefully and looked at him, motioning him to continue.

"The thing is that us wolves, we don't just turn into wolves. We also imprint. There are different theories as to why we imprint, but what it essentially means is that when we meet our soulmate, our entire life shifts. We don't see other women anymore; all we see is her. And she's the core of our universe, the most important essence of our existence." Seth took a deep breath and tightened his fingers around hers, bringing her hands up to rest against his heart. "Savannah, when I met you on that beach that night, I imprinted on you. You're it for me." He looked at her, his body and soul vulnerable and scared as he watched her mind wrap itself around the information.

She shook her head slowly as if to clear her mind and stood up quickly. "Seth…I don't know if I can be that for you." She stammered as her eyes watered. "I just… I need a minute," she dropped her hands from his and ran out the door.

Seth's heart broke into a million pieces as he heard her car start and leave the lot. What he could only suspect was that her heart did the very same.


	18. Wrecks

Rain hammered down in the dark night, and Savannah slammed the door to her car shut. Taking a fortifying breath, she turned the ignition and tried to ignore the steady stream of tears running down her face as she drove through Forks.

As soon as she hit the highway her chest constricted painfully as images of Seth's broken eyes played before her eyes. Shaking her head, she forced herself to concentrate on the slippery road as her mind raced.

Lost in her thoughts, Savannah didn't even notice she'd driven to Port Angeles until she was already there. She parked her car and turned it off, staring into the empty streets. Deciding that this situation called for a drink to clear her head, she thanked her lucky stars for forgetting her purse in the car earlier that day and ran into the nearest bar. She saw that it was the same seedy establishment she'd went to before, and sat down at the bar. The mirror behind the liquor shelves was not being kind to her as she saw her appearance.

Her usually wavy blonde hair had turned frizzy in the rain, her eyes were rimmed with red and her running mascara had created a nice raccoon effect after all her crying. Savannah attempted to wipe the worst of the black stuff away and sighed deeply. "What can I get you, darling?", an older man with a serious potbelly asked her. "I'll just have a gin tonic, thank you".

"Pardon my french ma'm, but you look like you've had a rough night," the man said. Savannah laughed humourlessly and nodded her head, "You don't even know half of it".

From his car, Ryan could see the small frame of his ex-fiancé through the mirror of the grimy bar. Wrinkling in disgust, he watched as she laughed with the fat bartender. 'She was always a goddamn slut,' he thought. How she'd shacked up with the first guy she met in that godforsaken town she'd moved to was disgraceful, especially since she still belonged to him. He snapped a few pictures with his camera.

He knew, rationally, that he'd been too rough with her on a few occasions, but those were things she would forgive him for. Savannah just needed to forgive him. That restraining order she'd gotten had put a temporary dent in his plans to win her back, but now that she was out and about by herself Ryan's hopes soared.

He wouldn't win her back just yet, but soon. Very soon.

Ryan started his car and pulled out his phone. He'd been watching Lover Boy, so he knew that Savannah had gotten her number changed. It had only taken him a phone call to some old friends in higher places to figure the new one out, and he had been biding his time to contact her. Give her the sense of safety before he ruffled her feathers enough to get her out of the arms of her new boy toy and back into his; where she belonged.

He drove out of the parking lot and headed back to Forks. Maybe he'd be lucky and find her apartment empty this time, he thought as he hit the interstate.

"- he's amazing. He really is. He's brave, and strong and kind. He takes care of me, without stifling me. And he does it out of the goodness of his heart, he's like that with everyone he loves. I just can't be what he needs me to be. I told you about my crazy ex, -I'm scared that jumping back into something serious will put me right back where I was," Savannah took a fortifying breath as she finished pouring her heart out to the burly and tough-looking bartender.

He'd poured himself a drink and refilled hers a few times since she started, and nodded slowly as he took in everything she'd just told him.

"So the douchebag ex was a psychopath, first of all. Now this new guy, he doesn't sound anything like that, darlin'. He sounds like a proper man. It's okay to be taken care of by the people who love you, you know."

Savannah circled the edge of her glass with her fingertip. "I understand why you're scared, but you need to take a step back and let go of all this shit keeping you back. This guy just told you he wants to spend the rest of his life with you, but that doesn't mean you can't back out later if you feel like it. Words are just that; words," he continued.

"The only thing that will bring you back to where you were, is you. You're the only constant in your own life, don't ever forget that. Your man sounds like a stand up guy. I think you should give him a shot."

Savannah sighed deeply and looked up into the face of the bartender. Patrick, his name was. She agreed with him, but she had this nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that something just wasn't right. Whether that had anything to do with Seth, she didn't know. The one thing she knew was that regardless of this wolfy business, she missed Seth like crazy. Looking at the clock over the bar she calculated that she'd left him two hours ago. It was nearing midnight and she was tired. In her clouded mind she had yet again drunk without thinking about how to get home. She looked over her shoulder and watched as the rain pounded down on the black concrete outside.

"Let's sober me up so I can go fix this, Patrick," she said and smiled at the middle aged man she'd shared her struggles with. Albeit the version of it without mythological creatures and love spells.

Seth was wrecked, but he'd only allowed himself a few moments of absolute heartache before his need to make sure Savannah was safe trumped his own need to wallow. He wasn't a wallower, he knew that. He was a positive guy, Embry had even once told him he'd never met anyone with as much sunshine out of his ass as Seth. He had faith that this couldn't be it. Whatever Savannah struggled with, they could fix, together. The two of them. The idea that they were over before they'd even begun wasn't something he was willing to accept, not just yet. He'd wait for her, be whatever she needed him to be. He'd be her friend; whatever she needed of him, because she was the single most important person in his life.

He jogged out into the woods and stripped, making sure he had his phone securely fastened to his leg along with his shorts, just in case she called him. He had no idea where Savannah had gone, and ran around aimlessly for hours, stress and worry making him almost jittery.

When his phone rang he changed back quickly and pressed it to his ear without thinking.

"Hello, is this Seth?" the dark voice of a man asked him. "Yeah, that's me," Seth replied and looked down on his phone to check the caller ID. "Why do you have Savannah's phone?" he asked, his brows furrowing.

"I'm Patrick. I work at the Black Beauty, the bar in Port Angeles? Anyway, she's currently in the bathroom, trying to wash some of that godawful black makeup off. She doesn't know I'm calling you, but I don't want her to drive back in this terrible weather by herself. She's sober now, but I'd hate to see a face as pretty as that smeared across the road, if you know what I mean." Seth knew exactly what he meant, and after getting the address of the bar from Patrick he shifted back and ran as fast as he could.

It was way past midnight by the time he made it to Port Angeles. Grateful for the cover of night, he snuck his way around until he found a suitable alley and changed back, pulling his shorts on and jogged to the bar.

He felt her presence the way he always did. It was like a million tiny strings were stretching out from his body, connecting him to her, always straining until they were back in each other's arms.

The hairs on the back of Savannah's neck rose and she turned around. The sight of a soaking wet Seth made her heart pound in her chest as she took in his appearance. He wasn't even wearing shoes; only those ripped off sweatpants she knew he brought with him when he ran. The tattoo on his arm was barely visible in the dim light of the bar, but she knew it was there. She knew him almost as well as she knew herself.

Jumping off the bar stool she threw herself into his strong arms, not caring about the audience. Grateful that she'd worn her faithful jeans, t shirt and cardigan-combo, she knotted her fingers behind his neck and wrapped her arms around his waist. His hands rested on her hips, keeping her tight to his chest.

Seth released a breath he hadn't realised he was holding as soon as he held her. He looked over her shoulder and shared a nod with who he assumed to be Patrick, before burying his face in the crook where her slender neck met her shoulder. He inhaled her scent, wrapping himself around her the best way he could and gently kissed her skin. "Let's go home," she whispered in his ear and he nodded, needing to take their reunion out of the prying eyes around them, eyes that were currently ogling his imprint's ass.

He slowly released her back to her feet and she reluctantly took a step back to grab her purse off the counter. She threw a quick smile at Patrick as Seth gently took her hand, and Patrick smiled back knowingly, wiggling his eyebrows.

She snorted quite unladlylike, causing Seth and Patrick both to chuckle and Seth gently pulled her out of the bar and towards her car. Using her cardigan to shield her from the rain the best she could, she fumbled with her keys, her freezing fingers making it difficult to separate the keys on her chain. Seth covered her small hands with his scorching ones and kissed her fingertips until she released the keychain into his palms. He smiled at her, that warm and gentle smile that made Savannah feel safe. The smile that caused his dimples to show, the smile that his face always seemed empty without. She smiled back at him carefully, and he pulled her under his arm as he unlocked the car and gently pushed her in to the passenger seat.

Seth quickly ran around and got into the driver's seat, turning the ignition and firing up the heaters. When the system rattled instead of heating the car, he shook his head. "Babe, we need to get you a new car," he said with exasperation. Savannah blinked at him, before bursting into laughter and covering her face with her cold hands. Seth tugged at her wrists until she let them fall into her lap, and she turned to face him in the small cab of her car. A car she thought was pretty big, but with Seth in it it seemed so much smaller. His huge frame took up so much space that she doubted she'd even have to stretch out her arm to touch him.

"I'm so sorry, Savannah," Seth said and brushed her hair out of her face. She leaned into his palm, resting her cheek against it before covering his hand with both of hers. "No, Seth, no. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to place my fucked up past on your head, and while I don't really understand what's happening I'm willing to see where it leads us," Savannah murmured and pressed her lips to his palm.

Seth shook his head gently, a smile playing at his lips, before he shifted in his seat and pulled her to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his for a breath, before closing the gap and kissing him with fervour.

Invisible strings, strings that had felt so brittle in her soul, connected her to Seth like an iron vice, and she knew there'd be nowhere else she'd rather be.

After what seemed like seconds and hours in the same beat, Seth slowed their movements until he was peppering her face, her cheeks, her jaw, in small and sweet kisses as they caught their breaths. "I love you," Savannah whispered, and the corner of Seth's eyes crinkled when he grinned. "I love you," he replied, and intertwined their fingers as he settled back in his seat to drive them home.

Savannah had forgiven Patrick for calling Seth the second she'd seen him trying to discreetly deposit her phone back into her purse when she came out of the bathroom and checked her caller history. Her heart had fluttered with nerves, but Patrick's old and knowing eyes told her that it was going to be okay.

"You made me all wet," Savannah giggled and looked down at her t-shirt. The white fabric was clinging to her torso, making the black lace of her bralet visible through the soaked cotton. Seth wiggled his eyebrows at her and kissed her knuckles, chuckling against her skin. She raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to voice his dirty thoughts out loud, but he kept his mouth shut as they sped down the highway back to Forks.

With the heater broken in her car, Savannah was grateful for the fact that Seth was always running hot. Sitting as close to him as her seatbelt allowed, she let the warmth from his skin heat her to the bone and she snuggled into his shoulder.

When they finally made it back to Savannah's condo, Seth parked the car and grabbed the keys to the door. "Stay here while I unlock the door so you don't get cold and wet," he said and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, urging her to listen to him. She nodded, her brows knitting in confusion.

Seth closed the door to the car softly and turned around, his nostrils flaring. There was a scent, a scent he knew didn't belong to any of the other residents of the complex. As he approached Savannah's door the scent grew stronger, and when he finally got the door unlocked he felt his body beginning to shake. Forcing the change to stop, he quickly scanned the apartment for signs of disturbance, and he followed the stranger's scent as he stalked through each and every room.

When he entered their bedroom the sight had him shaking again. The bed was covered in rose petals, and in the middle he found a picture of Savannah. It'd been taken today, only a few hours ago. It was of her in the bar he'd picked her up from. Nausea spread throughout his body and he dropped the photograph as if it'd stung him.

Her face had a circle drawn around it, and at the bottom it said

'Thy vows are all broken,

And light is thy fame:

I hear thy name spoken,

And share in its shame.'

Confused, Seth slowly backed out of the room and called Brandon. He was a member of the pack who'd turned when the Volturi had come a decade ago, and he'd now started working as a police officer in Forks.

"Dude, the fucker is here. He's right fucking here in Forks, watching her," Seth seethed. Brandon knew immediately what he was talking about and got out of bed. "Are you sure, Seth?"

"Yes, I'm goddamn sure. He's been in here, his scent is all over her apartment. He's been in her bedroom, Brandon. There's a picture of her here…" Seth drew a deep breath and tried to control his anger. The usually calm and sunny man was in pieces, but Brandon understood. Having watched Savannah break down and seen it all unfold through the pack mind, Brandon got Seth's reaction. "I'm coming down, don't touch anything. I'll call it in to central and they'll get some forensics there in the morning. But you know as well as I do, that unless there's any proof that it's actually her ex there is nothing the law can do," Brandon said.

Seth sighed, and after grabbing his shoes from the hallway he got back out to Savannah. "We'll wait for you to come down and check it out so she can grab some stuff from her bedroom," he said to Brandon on the phone before hanging up. He turned to Savannah who was looking at him with concern.

"What's going on?" she asked sternly. Seth turned to her in the car and took her hands in his. "Ryan is here," he said and watched as horror flitted across her face and she turned her head to look around. "He's not here-here, but he's in Forks. He's been watching you, Savannah. I found a picture of you inside, and -", Savannah's breathing grew erratic and Seth cradled her face with his hands.

"Breathe, baby, please," he whispered gently, coaxing her out of her head and back to him. "He's never going to touch you, ever. I'll keep you safe, I swear on my life. There is no me without you, okay?" Seth murmured and kissed her forehead, stroking her back until her breathing slowed and he felt her hands move to his shoulders.

Savannah blinked tears from her eyes and nodded. Seth would keep her safe from him, she knew that. But he'd been in her home, and he'd been watching her. She couldn't believe she'd been stupid enough to think Ryan would leave her alone.


	19. Please Mr Police

Hi guys! Sorry for the late update, life is just being a bit much these days. Please R&amp;R!

* * *

It didn't take Brandon more than 15 minutes to arrive at Savannah's apartment, and after walking through the place and doing a preliminary sweep he came back outside. He walked over to the car and opened the passenger door. He leaned down on his haunches, placing him at eye-level with Savannah. Brandon's face was somber and his brows were knitted, and Savannah felt as if her heart were to beat any harder it would rupture through her chest.

"It doesn't look like forced entry, first of all. I assume you lock your door?" Savannah nodded and Seth took one of her hands in his, intertwining their fingers. "He could've gotten in through one of the windows, but they're small so I doubt it. I've gone over the apartment, so you can come in and get some stuff. It goes without saying that you won't be staying here tonight, and I know this is redundant but stick close to Seth until we get all this sorted out." Brandon offered her a wisp of a smile she was unable to return, but accepted his hand when he reached out to help her out of the car.

"I'm sorry our first official meeting had to be under these circumstances, Savannah. I'd just like to welcome you to the pack, as a new wolf girl and all," Savannah looked at Seth in confusion. "Is every single muscular guy in this entire territory a wolf?" she asked him. Brandon and Seth laughed and shook their heads.

Savannah followed Brandon into the apartment, Seth close to her back. "Can you see if anything is missing?" Brandon asked. Savannah looked around the rooms as they walked through her apartment and shook her head, "no, nothing is out of place. Nothing at all."

She drew a fortifying breath as she walked into her bedroom, but the air left her lungs when she saw her rose covered bed. "The picture has a message on it, if you'd like to just look at it in case it bears any significance to you. We'll go over all of this tomorrow at the station though, so if you're not up for it right now -" Savannah interrupted Brandon and moved around his large form to study the picture.

"It's Lord Byron. 'When We Two Parted', by Lord Byron. It's from an English Lit class I did in college, it's where Ryan and I first met." Savannah wiped angry tears from her face and turned to her closet. "It's him. That goddamn bastard just can't leave me the hell alone." She quickly filled a bag with clothes and essentials and after answering a few more questions for Brandon, Seth drove her to his house in La Push.

It was closing on 3am by the time they pulled in to the driveway of Seth's ancient two story condo. "You live with Brady and Collin, right?" Savannah asked as Seth grabbed her bag from the backseat and walked her to the door, her side tucked comfortably under his arm.

"Yeah I do, but I think they're both on patrol tonight. At least they were earlier, when I was running to Port Angeles." He unlocked the door and stepped into a large mudroom she assumed had once been a foyer before bachelor werewolves had moved in. "I'll give you the tour tomorrow, but for right now let's just go to bed, yeah?" Seth said and took her hand, leading her up the stairs and into his room.

"It's not much, but it'll do for now," he spoke and placed her bag on the floor by the foot-end of his large bed. The walls were authentic pine, as were the wooden floors, as well as the bed frame and small wardrobe sat in the corner of the room. It was sparsely decorated, but the wall facing the bed was covered in photographs of all sizes. She recognised some of the pack members in many of them, as well as some of the wolf girls.

Seth walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "What's going on in here?" he whispered and kissed her temple. Savannah turned around and looked up at Seth, moving her hands to stroke the soft hair at the back of his neck. "It's just been such a long night. I'm more than a little overwhelmed and I just really need to close my eyes and forget for a few hours."

Looking down at his imprint, Seth was filled with such a strong myriad of emotions. Love, first and foremost, but also a crippling fear for her safety. His need to protect her had hit overdrive the second he'd picked up the foreign scent outside her apartment, and he'd yet to relax from that. Sensing how tense he was, Savannah began to gently rub rough knots out of his neck.

"I'm fine Seth, I'm right here, right here with you. I don't think I can be any safer than I am at this moment, so just relax, okay? Don't space out on me now," Savannah murmured and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close. Seth tightened his hold on her and sighed deeply.

"Why don't you get ready for bed, I need to go and let the guys know what's going on," Seth said as he reluctantly loosened his grip on her waist. Savannah kissed him as he headed out the door and grabbed her things before heading for the bathroom.

Savannah had barely gotten situated under the covers of Seth's bed before he was back. He crawled into bed next to her and pulled her so close she was practically all on top of him. Seth ran his fingers through her hair as she rested her head on his chest. "The guys on patrol headed over to your place to pick up the scent so they can try to figure out where he is," Seth murmured softly. Savannah lifted her head and looked down at him. "And you're going to have an escort until we catch him," he continued and twirled a piece of her blonde hair around his fingers. Seeing her brows knot, he shook his head. "That's not up for discussion. At least it's the weekend and you won't have to think about it 'til Monday. But let's talk about it tomorrow, babe."

Savannah nodded and kissed him softly, before falling asleep to his heartbeat.


	20. Large Open Spaces

After spending the morning at the police station filling out papers, Savannah was ready for the day to be over already.

Especially considering how Brady had stumbled into the bathroom half asleep while she was in the shower, which had almost gotten him into a fistfight with Seth. She shook her head and sighed, willing the image of Brady's wide eyes as he realised she was in fact naked and his haphazard attempt at getting out of the shared bathroom before Seth caught him, out of her mind.

"I'm going to show you something." Seth's voice drew her out of the unpleasant memory and back into his Park Ranger cruiser. Unable to resist his contagious smile, Savannah looked from him and out onto the road they were on. "What is it?" she asked as a large, white house with a wraparound porch came into view. "Bear with me, alright? It's just something I've been circling while I waited."

"Waited for what?" Savannah asked. "For you," Seth replied and parked the car in front of the house.

Seth opened the car door for her and looked at her expectantly.

It was a beautiful house, albeit a bit run down and in need of a fresh coat of paint. Even though Savannah barely knew anything more than the simple basics of architecture, she could tell it was an old Country style house

The wind rustled through the trees surrounding the house on one side, their leaves starting to change color. Fall was right around the corner, and despite the sun making a rare appearance, Savannah felt chilly.

Seth wrapped his huge, warm arm around her and gently led her up the worn stairs and onto the porch. He produced a key from one of his pockets and again he glanced at her nervously.

"What is up with you?" Savannah laughed gently and looked up at him.

"Like I said, it's just an idea," Seth said and unlocked the door. He pushed it in gently and Savannah followed him inside.

Seth led her through the undecorated rooms on the first floor, starting with a family room, a large kitchen with plenty of potential and open solution to a dining room, a living room with windows covering 2/3 of the walls all around the far side of the room, with a sliding door opening up to the backyard. Walking over to gaze through them, Savannah could see the ocean through a far clearing in the trees.

The space itself was beautiful, with the same white walls and exposed oak beams as the rest of the floor, but competing with the gorgeous view of the windows was a huge brick fireplace. "I'd put a thick, soft rug right here. In front of the fireplace," Savannah said. Curious, she exited the room through the other entrance to the room and walked up the staircase she'd seen when they first got into the house. The dark wood creaked softly as she reached the second floor, where she found three bedrooms along the hallway. She was about to open the door to what she assumed was the fourth when Seth took her hand. He'd been uncharacteristically quiet this whole time, but the cautious smile on his face was infectious.

Savannah gingerly pushed the door open and was immediately drawn in. The master bedroom was big, like most of the other rooms in the house, but it was the view of the sea through the floor to ceiling windows that took her breath away. The sun was gleaming off the waves, making it look like diamonds. It was closer than she had thought, maybe only a ten minute walk from the house, but with a view like this she wouldn't even need to go to the beach.

Seth had stayed in the doorway, watching her move softly around the room, taking it all in. She turned to face him, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Do you remember when I told you about the Cullens? Well, they helped me set up a pretty lucrative stock portfolio, so I have some cash tucked away," he walked towards her tentatively, grasped her waist in his large arms and turned her around to face the view. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. Savannah covered his arms with her own and entwined her fingers with his.

"Okay… So?" She urged him quietly.

"So, I'm thinking about buying this place. To build a life here, with you," Seth said.

Savannah had known he had something up his sleeve when they came here, but hearing him say it out loud was somehow very different. The idea of living here, of living with Seth was amazing. Of not having to go back to her apartment, of sharing her days and nights, afternoons and mornings with him. While they'd spent practically every minute together for months now, sharing everything would be different. A good kind of different. Her mom would probably accuse of her of moving too fast, but the fact was that in the imprint nothing could feel more natural.

She turned around in his embrace and moved her fingers into the soft locks of hair on the back of his head. "I think I'd like that." Seth whooped and twirled her around the room, her feet more than a few inches above ground. When he finally let her down, he placed a soft and heady kiss on her lips, his arms tightening around her. When they came up for air, Savannah giggled and whispered, "Besides, it'd be nice to not worry about your roommates walking in on me in the shower every morning."


	21. Life

'I knew she'd say yes,' Jared said, laughing through the pack mind. Seth's plans had been known to them for a while now, the bond preventing any secrets. As Alpha, Jared had changed the patrol schedule around to allow Seth to be with Savannah as much as possible while Ryan was in the area, but he still phased in just to check up. 'Any news?'

'All the guys are up to date on the situation, and they've all been by Savannah's place to pick up the scent. Nothing so far, except for faint traces around town. They did pick it up by the school though, so we're working on figuring out a rotation that'll fit for her work hours. None of you have any vacation days to spend, so we'll just have to make it work,' Jared said, trying to sound optimistic. 'We'll find him, Seth. I promise you we will.'

Savannah watched Seth pace in the backyard of his house from her perch on the patio, nursing a cup of tea in her hands. After they came back from the house that was soon to be theirs, they'd celebrated this new step in their relationship in bed, but as the sun hang low in the sky he'd excused himself to check for updates from the pack. Savannah had gotten dressed and grabbed a blanket from the couch to keep her warm outside, as being alone was not an option right now. Not when Ryan was so close. Just thinking about him sent a cold shiver down her spine, and she took a sip of her tea.

The last few rays of sunlight were making Seth's fur glow against the dark backdrop of the woods. When he looked as though he was finished with his mental chat, he approached her with that strangely gentle gait that looked completely out of character for a ginormous animal. Seth laid by her feet in his wolf form, letting her run her fingers through the soft fur by his ears as waited for Jared to give the boys marching orders.

Afterwards, he shifted back and pulled on the sweatpants he'd left on the step next to Savannah. Seth sat down next to her and pulled her close to him as they watched the sun set, colouring the mountainous sky with shades of purple and red. He moved her gently across his lap, allowing him to wrap his arms around her tight.

"I need to talk to my mom. She's probably going to want to meet you, since we're moving in together and all," Savannah said as darkness settled around them. Only the light coming from the windows kept the backyard lit.

"I'd sure like to meet her, too babe. About time, wouldn't you say?" Seth said and laughed into her hair. She giggled, "yeah, i guess it is, isn't it."

Savannah didn't want her mom to know Ryan was back though, so she didn't want her to come to Forks. Ryan might have a sick affection for her, but she knew he harboured no such feelings for her mother. He might actually harm her, given the chance. Savannah's brows knitted and she tensed.

Seth looked down at her and nudged her gently. "Hey you, what's going on up in that head of yours?" he said as he stroked her back.

"Despite everything, Ryan is still controlling my life. I've done absolutely everything they told to do -everything I could do, and still he's the one in charge, deciding how i live my life." Her lower lip trembled slightly and she looked up at him, pleading silently for Seth to save her.

"He does not control your life, Savannah. You are the only one who decides how to live your life," he nuzzled into her neck, "although I do hope you'll take some of my advice from time to time."

Savannah sighed and laughed quietly. This moment, with Seth, was her anchor. She was safe in his arms, she was warm with his touch. She was loved.

* * *

"Hey! Be careful with that!" Seth bellowed through the house as a pair of the younger pack members tried to cajole a dishwasher through a freshly painted doorway.

Savannah was off somewhere upstairs with a couple of the other girls, helping the guys move furniture around until it was just right. Seth could hear it wasn't so much helping as dictating, but as long as his imprint was happy he couldn't care less about the disgruntled grunts coming from his pack mates.

He and Savannah had spent the last few weeks painting and doing the finishing touches on their new home, after a couple of the boys had helped him fix up the floors and replace the bannisters on the staircase. He didn't want Savannah to fall down those hardwood steps and break something, much less when they had kids. Best to fix everything now, while the house is empty and uninhabited.

They'd both agreed on keeping the house as it was, just repainting and glossing over the worn and tattered parts of the house. The walls were white and bright for the most part, with the exception of the dining room where Savannah had insisted on covering one of the walls with wallpaper picturing a lush and green forest. When he asked her why, she'd simply said "the forest reminds me of you. It's a part of who you are, and you should be in every room." He'd kissed her after that, despite them both being covered in glue and paint.

They'd put in an island in their large, new, kitchen, where they'd taken down the wall between it and the dining room. The open solution had created so much space, and Savannah was in love with the new look of it. They'd put the triple cooking top on the island and incorporated the two new ovens into the kitchen cabinets.

The new appliances would be used often, Savannah figured, especially after seeing the huge table the guys had put in the dining room. Not only must it have been almost 12 feet long, Embry also told her smugly that they'd made some extra tabletop plates, making it long enough to fit almost the whole pack and their partners around it.

After everything had been moved in and put where it belonged, Savannah was sore all over from hauling stuff around all day. The half-dozen pack members and their girls who'd helped them move had been served pizza and beer at the end of the day, and Seth honestly couldn't wait for them to leave so he could christen his new home with his imprint.

After letting them all out and locking all the doors, he strolled up the stairs to find Savannah steaming up the bathroom with a scorching hot shower. He undressed quietly and joined her under the spray, thankful that she'd made sure they'd moved the shower head further up so he wouldn't have to crack his neck everytime he got in.

"Tired?" Seth murmured as he pulled her back close to his chest. Savannah lent her head back on his chest and nodded slightly. He nuzzled her neck, nipping gently at the sensitive skin just below her jaw. She turned in his arms and ran her fingers through his hair, smiling up at him as the combined heat of him and the water fogged up the room.

"Remind me to give you a haircut soon. Your fur is bound to get shaggy when it's this long," Savannah said and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Seth ran his hands from her hips to her waist and down again. "Yes ma'm, I sure will," his laugh rumbled through his chest as he pulled her close. They didn't make it out of the shower for a while.


End file.
